"Quick rhythm, small breath

The gift of life- Against my neck. "

I wrote this on a whim while holding my first baby. Sitting in a rocking chair in his attic-like nursery- with newborn poop sprayed on the wall- I felt his heartbeat rapidly moving my skin, his uneven breath on my neck, and I wrote this poem. Four wild years later, I stand in a new house, with a third baby against my chest- feeling his uneven breath and his rapid heartbeat. His body and face fast asleep- ear pressed against my chest- breathing into my chin so close I can feel his tiny breath on my skin. And it occurred to me: is this what it looks like to remain in Jesus? To be face to face. Ear pressed against the heart of Jesus. To be looking at who Jesus really is and what Jesus stood to love, defend, speak for, do. To listen to what Jesus said so closely we can feel the very pulse of His heart? 

On Sunday Pastor Linda is preaching from John 15, when Jesus said, "  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." I love the Message version of this passage because it says, "Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you." John 15:4. 

As an artist, this passage makes me think about writer's block. If I'm trying to write music, lyrics, a poem, and I don't have any inspiration- it's because I'm not listening to music, reading books, reading poems, following artists, etc. that inspire me. In the same way, if we want to remain in Jesus we need to seek Him. Not that Jesus is just here to inspire us- unless we are looking at the root of the word, "inspire"- which means, "breathe",  In which case yes! Jesus is with us to breathe into us. To breathe life into us. 

To remain in Jesus is to live the words and life of Jesus and to follow what Jesus did then, and what God is doing now. And we can know what God is doing now by seeking God and trusting that by seeking God, God will reveal God's self to us. 

Let's do that, shall we? Let's press our ear to the heart of Jesus because we trust that God holds us like a parent holds their child. Let's turn our faces to Jesus so close that we could maybe just feel the breath of God on our face. What does God look like? What does God sound like? We can find out by living in Jesus, by listening for God's voice, by living the way of Jesus, and by expecting that God's presence- the Holy Spirit- is with us now. Abide in God. Remain in Jesus. Expect the Holy Spirit. 

See you in-person or online at 10:30am Sunday friends,

Peace be with you.

Chelsea Maitland