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What do I see before me in the late autumn of my life? I am much closer to the end of my earthly existence than most. I follow Jesus and take my seat among the multitude. I am here because of my need to be better.  I am here because I need to feel more than rejection and ambivalence. I am here because of my needs, my wants, and my deeply flawed self-image. From the grassy hillside, Jesus looks at me and sees deeply in my soul.  He sees the scars left by uncountable rejections, denials, and efforts that have gone wrong; each has left a scar. My heart is still pumping despite the wounds endured.  Wounds that have been both self-inflicted and put upon me by others. In a split second I realize it pumps because to Jesus the soul seer, the scars do not matter. All the damage will not stop the heart that shall see God.

I see God because He has done great work in me. My heart may well be disfigured but it has become pure for God and by God. And I am blessed.  Blessed to see God in everything I see and do. A pure heart made that way because of my willingness to follow. Here on the grassy hillside, I am at rest.  I shift slightly to hear a little bit better.  Jesus is talking to me. I am pure of heart because I am in the very presence of God.

# Just Larry