#nicholehenley

[nicholehenley]

The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for Him.

 Lamentations 3:25

[nicholehenley]

I’m Hungry But I Don’t Know What I Want To Eat

If your stomach is rumbling but you have no idea what you want to eat then it may time to reevvaluate how much time you are putting into YOUR needs. You have a hunger but no appetite, a thirst with no desire to drink...something is wrong. It’s okay to ask yourself what you want. It’s okay to desire something good for yourself. It’s okay to KNOW what you want, what you need, and  go after it. Even if it’s just a bowl of cereal you’re deciding after. Go do that for yourself today and take great joy in it. 

[nicholehenley]

I Need Thee Every Hour.

Knowing 9 o’clock was coming soon. I, for the first time, wasn’t looking forward to the church bells. The birds’ song was enough for my heart today. But here the church bells came over the neighborhood houses to my very porch and very chair and exact position at which I heard that almost out of tune “Amazing Grace”, loud and clear. “I wish they’d play ‘I Need Thee Every Hour’. I wonder if I should write in a request...”

My mind drifted to other thoughts. Sunday will be a good day; busy yet restful at the same time. I began to smile and perk up at the thought of it. And then, just like that, those long desired and yearned for feelings of gratitude came rushing back to me...but that little flood was nothing compared to the hurricane coming my way. 

I began thanking God for bringing me out of a dry season that left me more parched than I have been in a long time. My eyes began to moisten as my heart began to grow soft. In the midst of being so consumed in this moment, my consciousness was pulled back to planet earth, back to my neighborhood, to my very porch and and very chair and exact position which had been forgotten in this moment. The church bells brought me back by a song. They were still playing. But the song was different now. The song being played was “I Need Thee Every Hour”. 

Then the hurricane came of tears, of joy, of pain, of sorrow all summoned forth all at once. All surrendered to the Great One, that is needed every hour. All glory to Him who sees and hears and LOVES. 

What an ironic song to be chosen; the song that has been my prayer and my reality as of late. The very song God chooses to remind of who He is and that He is very much real and therefore His love is very much real. It’s like He’s trying to say something..

“I need thee every hour Most gracious Lord No tender voice like thine Can peace afford

I need thee oh I need thee Every hour I need thee Oh bless me now my savior I come to thee

I need thee every hour Stay thou near by Temptations loose their power When thou art nigh 

I need thee every hour Most holy one Oh make me thine indeed Thou blessed son

I need thee oh I need thee Every hour I need thee Oh bless me now my savior I come to thee”

Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, "Rivers of living water will flow from his heart."

John 7:38, NLT

[nicholehenley]

Hope awakened, Love revived

He told me the moon gave him comfort. It reminded him of an unchanging love... “Minor things about us may change, just as the moon does. Yet at the end it’ll be the same moon and we’ll be the same crazy kids who fell in love way too hard.” I told him that I hoped to look at the moon and feel the same way (though I didn’t know for sure if that was possible). In this emotional desert, my heart forgot this love. It all feels like a false reality right now. Were all my dreams and hopes unrealistic? Or was my reality too far gone from my dreams?

Waking up with sickness of the heart and body is painful, but being healed from that echo of death by the awakening of a cool and bright morning is an experience I wouldn’t trade. With my head pounding and my heart aching, I saw that the world was waking up through my little basement window. To increase the desire to go out and see, my phone enlightened me that it was also a rare 63 degrees on this August morning. The facts had decided for me. There I was, in my raggedy tank top, boy shorts, and remainders of my coffee (which was now cold). I brushed off the dirt from a chair on the deck and took my position. I waited and watched. I felt and heard. I let the earth speak to me and in doing so, heal what had been broken.

I still remembered his words. And I still desired to feel the same way about the moon as he did. My cough started to subside. More than likely because I was sitting up and the mucus could drain properly. My heart began to rest for the first time since this journey began. I looked to the trees and what I saw caught my breath. On the highest part of this miniature lush forest in my backyard the first light of dawn breathed on those mighty branches turning everything a golden matte. Everything else surrounding was just normal colors; normal green, normal brown, normal textures. The best way I could describe it is if someone took a picture of these trees and created a filter worthy of being called a deity but targeted the filter for only one spot of the photograph. And that is the part that caught my attention so suddenly. I almost lusted for the trees in a very strange way. I didn’t quite want the trees but I somehow wanted to be closer to them than I currently was. The feeling was so strong, that tears came.

I then looked to the sky for the clouds were turning all shades of pink. Then there was a spot of blue, the first to appear on the stage that morning. The blue stretched to a greater expanse than I had thought at first. My eyes traced it to a certain silver object held up by a force I like to call Love. I drew in a great breath of excitement and remembrance, “A day moon! He loves a day moon…”. I softened- no I melted at the thought. For some reason, his love for day moons, and my love for night moons and just about darn anything that is romantic and involves the sweet Earth, caused a fondness in my heart for him.  I kept staring at the moon. Kept thinking about how much I loved that similarity between us. Kept thinking about how I loved him. I started to believe that maybe he was right about the moon; right about us. A part of me is still in doubt. But for now, that shining day moon has given me comfort. 

[nicholehenley]

Isn't that what it means to know me?

“He gave justice and help to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know me?” says the LORD.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭22:16‬ ‭NLT‬‬ We ask God to make himself known to us and for Him to show us who He is and to give us more of Him. But all that He is can be found in His own words that were already given to us through scripture. I love this part in Jeremiah that describes what knowing God looks like...simply by helping the poor and needy. If we're not doing that, do we really even know Him? “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.” ‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

[nicholehenley]

Mountain moments

"The diversity of this moment was almost indescribable. Another day's aging sunlight illuminated the mountains and the hazy clouds that lingered amidst the slopes. Only a memory holds the perfect picture of what was passed and left on what would be called only mere hills in reflection of Gods beauty and glory. Surely He is good and gives abundant life. "

[nicholehenley]

He said "i love you" again for the millionth time and for the first time I knew we'd be alright

Nichole Henley

[nicholehenley]

Death earned, redemption received

My God withholds nothing from me except the one thing deserved; death. He keeps no grace, no patience, no freedom, no victory, no life on reserve when bestowing gifts unto me. He doesn’t hold back when He says the I AM loves and is faithful. The only thing He restrains is the darkness that was once my earned doom. Now He has bought me, I, His own creation. The Almighty God has redeemed me.