"Safe in the arms of Love..."

"I want a heart to be forever mine,
I want eyes to see me satisfied,
Gonna hang my heartaches out to dry...
Someday I'm gonna be safe in the arms of love,
Safe in the arms Of Love"

I heard the first verse of Martina McBride's "Safe in the Arms of Love," the other day, and there wasn't a moment's hesitation to my response...

"Hey, I've got that...I've already got all of that."

And it was a feeling that ran very deep...like an underground river.  I didn't have to reason it out, or ponder it for a long time...it was as immediate, and present, as any feeling I've ever had.  And I think maybe, it just might be, that Jesus' message of "the kingdom of heaven is within you" is finally getting through! 

It infinitely clear that, the only heart that will ever be "forever mine," is...well, mine.  That the one, and only, love that I can always be sure of, is the love that I am feeling...for God, and for others.  It's within me...and nothing can take it away.  Nothing, and no one, can deprive me of its constancy, its reliability, its ever-presence.  It's source is God, Love...so, by reflection, it is mine...and it's forever mine.  Because I am His, forever His. 

That doesn't mean that the affection, warmth, and tenderness that I feel,  from others...my loved ones -- family and friends...brings any less sweetness, happiness, and joy.  Quite the contrary.  I experience each moment of their love with an even greater wonder and delight because it is no longer a measure of how much love I have in my life.  The love in my life is full and overflowing...but it comes from within...not without.   It's only defined by the love I have to give, not the love I hope to get.

And as for those "eyes that see me satisfied..."  Well, they look back at me from the mirror every morning.  I know that, as Mary Baker Eddy says, in her poem, "Satisfied":

"It matters not, what be thy lot
so Love doth guide."

It no longer matters whether I am experiencing a lot of love, or that my lot in life...at any given moment....is lean with aloneness, or gaping with opportunities to grow in grace, to be a blessing in the world I walk in.  As long as I am letting Love guide my heart, my motives, my speech and actions, I have the right to be...and am... satisfied.  And I can see this contentment in myself, and know that it is unshakeable.

So tonight, as I sit here thinking about all the campers, counselors, staff, and bunkhouse parents...who have gathered at various summer camps across the country to grow spiritually, and make new friends ...I am feeling such deep peace knowing that the kingdom of heaven is within each of us, that our hearts are guided solely by Love, that we are  safe in, and as, His outreached arms of extended blessings...and, that we are...right now...satisfied. 

rest well....

Kate