power in a single drop

I drove up to visit my parents for Labor day weekend. I surprised them at church; dad and Kim knew we were coming that early, but they told mom that Natalie and I wouldn't be there until around 4pm. Mom saw us and gave me that, "you girls are sneaky" look. We hugged necks as the church sang out in worship songs. One song we sang that touched my heart is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOY0mjjmx8Y

I love music. This song is a wonderful "get lost in His love" song for me. Reminds me how much He is here for me today and has paid the ultimate price. How no matter what I have done, He still loves me. He loved me before I was born. There's a line in the song At the cross I bow my knees, where your blood was shed from me. There's no greater love than this. I know He loves me.

It's great to know I'm loved ~ I know I say that a lot, but coming home for a family visit always reminds me how strong our family ties are. There's something powerful about a blood line and the love that connects us to one another.

I'm reading a book right now called "Tilling the Soul" by Denise George. I picked it at a garage sale this weekend. It's a daily devotional study, but I like to just read through them as a regular book. Denise's book is about how she has discovered the power of prayer and how prayer penetrates our pain. Her father had heart complications (just as mine has had) and through the first couple of devotions I could see and understand her pain from the experiences I have had.

This morning as we were in the backyard looking over dads garden when mom noticed dads elbow bleeding. He was letting Natalie pick his tomatoes and talked to her about caring for a garden. It was only a little scratch, but dad being on so much blood thinners, a little scratch can mean a big mess and a opportunity to lose a lot of blood. This happens a lot and dad sometimes doesn't realize he has even scratched himself.

I'll try not to get to graphic, but want to portray the picture I saw. The small drop of blood on his elbow caught moms' attention. Sometimes there's a trigger inside me that goes off when I hear of things that dad has to go through. He's tough, but fragile all in the same. The blood required a paper towel and a band aid ~ that's all. But the power that grabbed our attention was what made me think of the power in a single drop of blood.

There are so many diseases in our world. When I see blood the panic button goes off inside. Then I begin to think of all the ways to avoid touching or infecting each other with each other's blood ~ that's just how we are trained. If there are accidents in our job, home, whatever ~ if there is blood, there is caution in how to handle it (even written documentation on how to handle blood) ~ there is power in blood. It makes us act different ~ it makes our attitude switch to serious.

In that one drop of blood, I'm reminded of the many drops that fell from Jesus' brow the day He tore away the veil. The old hymn sings there is power in the blood. If it were not for the blood that was shed on the cross, we would not have the freedoms we do today. That day he knew that his actions would affect me over 2000 years later. In Colossians 1 all things were created by Him and for Him. In verses 18-20 of The Message it reads, He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. All things are there, but still before Christ was willing to give his life, we were without harmony. It was all because of his death... the power in his blood that was poured out and down the cross that allows us to be free from the bandages of this world. Oh, the power in a single drop!

Lord, thank you for the power of the blood! Thank you for your goodness! Thank you for giving me this time with my family and the safety you give us from day to day. I love and praise you for loving me. In Jesus precious name.