Vera Etoile

So there is a song by Colbie Caillat from 2011 titled “Brighter Than The Sun” and in it are these lyrics:

 “Oh, this is how it starts, lightning strikes the heart – It goes off like a gun, brighter than the sun… Oh, we could be the stars, falling from the sky – Shining how we want, brighter than the sun ” 

And whenever I hear this song, I am compelled to dance and move to the message explicitly proclaimed through those words…. “We could be the stars…Shining how we want” 

Don’t you love looking at the night sky and seeing with AWE the sparkle and glimmer of those shiny compasses leading our hearts upwards and home to our Heavenly Father??!!

 If that is your reaction, it is because that is HIS intention…we hear through Isaiah 40:26, “Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of His might and because He is strong in power, not one is missing .” And again in Psalm 147:4, “He determines the number of stars and calls them each by name” 

So you see, you are NOT ever an accident or a mistake but divinely created on purpose and your Creator knows you by name. He designed a star with your unique, authentic light and its ability to reflect His image and likeness…this is imprinted on your heart, much like the true image of his face was embedded on the cloth Veronica used to wipe His blood on the road to Calvary.

 “VERA” in Latin is True or Real and “Icona” in Latin is icon or image “Etoile” in French is star 

Can you imagine the elated joy you’d feel if you allowed the TRUE Light of Christ to penetrate your being and THEN like a star, radiated His personal, image-bearing heart print within you to the world?!?

Well, as Colbie Caillat so profoundly sang, it starts with lightning striking the heart – an openness to the Holy Spirit igniting a flame within you!!​Allow your Vera Etoile, your True Star to fall from the sky, into your heart and illuminate the world through your actions and words….without FEAR!! I understand if you feel tired, scared, or without an anchor. This is a common human emotion that can pop up at the most inopportune times.

LIFE happens…..

BUT

I urge you not to doubt and instead strap on a life jacket of FAITH.

Let faith and trust in God turn your ship around steering it towards the guiding light of His MAGNIFICENCE!

Listen, absorb and participate in His captivating presence, remembering He designed you with INTIMATE LOVE! He wants you to dazzle like a diamond and He creates a path forward out of aimless wandering and into an intentional walk of purpose!

Just as the moon dances its beams on the surface of the ocean at night, God shapes a distinct path for your heart to follow with the compass of Faith..and He will help you find the unique light He planted within you.

Don’t believe He can, but KNOW HE WILL. God never abandons.

Remember how He calls out to Peter in the Gospel of Matthew 14:22-33, assuring Peter not to fear because it is I, take heart.

Let the Lord’s comforting, outstretched arms and loving gaze pierce any darkness or doubt within you - step out of the boat of your wayward or uninspired routines and renew the spark of His Light and love deep within you.

I know it is easy to slip on the wet rocks of uncertainty, rejection, discouragement or self-pity losing our grip on virtuous, life-giving action and steering ourselves downward….

STOP

LOOK UP

SEE THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE STARS ABOVE

AND KNOW ONE OF THEM IS SHINING WITHIN YOU​ And through its rays, a VOICE of TRUTH whispers,

“I love you, and you are mine”

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Zephaniah 3:17 -“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.”

I have a confession I need to share with you all – I don’t belong here…so often I seek a place where my heart can become whole BUT only when I live in the transcendent do I receive with confidence that wholeness. God created me, my beautiful parents conceived me..therefore I love my parents deeply BUT my spirit belongs to God who rejoices over me with singing!!

What do I experience in the transcendent? 

*An angel comforting and holding me through a frightening wind storm

*A petal from a flowering tree dropping on my palm immediately after opening the paper and seeing a job perfectly suited to my unique circumstances and skills

*A dragonfly sitting on my coral-lipped begonia days in a row reflecting how wonderful it is to just rest in Jesus’ beautiful creation and know something gorgeous grows out of dirt, all depends on your focus

*A silly hummingbird goofily hovering in front of my face starting my morning on a punchy note and preventing my thoughts from sliding downward because someone MIGHTY is in charge!

*A stunning rainbow spanning across the sky in a perfect arch on the day I finished a novena prayed for my special family

*Several children I have never met running up to me in public areas hugging me with all the trust of childlike innocence reminding me to be that way as well towards my Heavenly Father

*A bird making a nest in my geraniums on the Feast of the Sacred Heart indicating to me, “Look! I make ALL THINGS NEW!” because I confided in Jesus I really miss my dad

*A variety of flowers mysteriously appearing in my garden I never planted like day lilies, peonies, bearded irises, petunias and lily of the valley…simply because God hears the desires of my heart and answers abundantly

* A man walking into a liquor store where I was buying some wine for family dinner and he exclaims, “What a beautiful woman!” and hi-fived me at a time I really needed to hear that because I just cleaned the whole house and was exhausted and feeling burnt out

*A hawk swooping down from a tree branch perched high above and gliding down right at eye level in front of me about 20 feet away while I was on a walk a little worried about things….it was God exclaiming, “I got this! Be free from worry and soar!” (that made my heart skip a few beats – it was incredible!!)

*How seeing a loved one struggle mentally with a condition I will never understand allows for a deeper awareness of the love shown on the Cross and invites you to once again choose the Grace of God to enter in and show just enough care to help her thrive one more day

*How a swee,t sweet salesman at Target who helped me buy a new cell phone started opening up to me about his 5 open heart surgeries and how he died for 10 minutes in front of his wife and then came back made me realize again how textured life is and how we always have the choice to experience adversity alongside the Lord and LET HIM GUIDE THE WAY! During the unexpected surprises in life

You might be thinking right now, “Yeah but these are all physical, tangible moments you describe, how are they transcendent??” It is the meaning behind each moment AND THE INTIMATE ANSWER MANIFESTED THROUGH EACH OCCASION.

These aren’t random coincidences or serendipitous occasions but instead carefully, playfully and intentionally designed actions planned by My Father in Heaven.

My earthly father loved the passage John 11:40 – “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

How??   

With Eyes of the Heart

With a Spirit of Hope and Openness

With the TRUST of a Child who never doubts that His Father HAS A PLAN for him/her

The lens through which I view and approach the world isn’t always popular or given much respect. Neither is the way I prioritize my life…I’m aware. I take some heat!! Often, I receive a sweet smile or a kind remark but never the same significance of someone who has “made it” by the world’s standards.

The world values material acquisitions, promotions and titles, the five bedroom house with the four full baths, the villa in France, the newest Iphone, fully loaded Tesla, where your kid got into college, retirement portfolios, the amount of wrinkles you staved off into your 50s, the friendship circles you subscribe to etc. etc…

It values the external - the status you’ve attained and the recognition that comes along with it. I’m more internal and let it be said I too fully live in this world fulfilling the obligations and responsibilities that need to be met with the utmost care and obedience but I CHOOSE to not be swept up in the laser focused machine of ambition that can blind a person and cause them to miss the joyful thing happening beneath the surface. The external is one way of life to be sure, and I mean no disrespect towards it – but does it ever give you the fulfillment you seek?

I have to propose that even with all those beautiful possessions and achievements, there will still be one LITTLE hole that carries a BIG yearning in your heart….

The space only GRACE can fill, God’s life within you. And courageously or softly, your heart can discover the garden of treasures awaiting your attention there– if you are willing to travel into that “inner room” at the center of your heart where Jesus waits with a candle lit and gazes at you with transcendent love.

There are unique treasures planted for you too, with all the love a Father can give. They carry specific, personal meaning for you as well. Don’t be afraid to change gears a bit each day, take the leap and travel along the adventurous treasure hunt Christ has designed for you.

You won’t ever be let down, dissatisfied or discouraged

RATHER restored, revived and REDEEMED!

Again, I don’t belong here but in the Heart of my Heavenly Father…

Wanna come along??

A tribute written for my dad, Doug Michaud, who always knew how to make living in this world inviting and engaging because he knew the secret of living in transcendence!

How do I define Transcendence?? 

Having a deeper awareness of how the Holy Spirit is moving in your life and seeing Life as an adventure when your spirit rests in the palm of God’s hand.

Glimpses of Heaven so personally designed in a special way that only a Heavenly Father is behind them. They extend beyond what’s right in front of my face and manifest a specific outpouring of my Father’s Love just for ME.

It is His way of communicating with me through an invisible avenue to everyone else but a very visible lens to the eyes of my heart and spirit which are made in His image and likeness.

It’s a deep, intimate and engaging conversation where He constantly shows me He understands my trials and circumstances and loves me. He wants me close to His heart, which ultimately brings eternal JOY!