Lord, if these angel wings are heavy
Then, do not take them from me
I will try to learn the faith of flight
Though dark days are haunting me
I will try to learn the faith of flight
In wind-tossed seas and storm
Knowing that your own dear son
In me, this faith has born.

Lord, if these angel wings are heavy
Do not take them from me
I am only learning to have faith in all
Those things I cannot see
But one day soon, with your loves help
I'll be strong enough to try
And lift those others up who call
On your love
to make them light.

Amen.

Laura Swindon-Ross - This work is copyright, all rights reserved.

I'm a teacher and Christian writer, currently studying for a Ph.D.

Dani Beckwith turned on the bedroom reading light and checked out her inflamed index finger. The splinter lodged deep, deep enough she felt like her heartbeat centered in her finger.

"Hey baby, you okay?"

Dani turned around and saw her husband of fifteen months, Seth, propped up on his pillow. She gave a meek smile and thrust her finger towards him.

"Wow Dani, how did you do that? That looks pretty deep."

"Staining the deck."

Seth held and kissed her finger.

"Do you want me to take it out? My dad used to take a sterile needle and dig mine out. Worked like a charm."

She pulled her finger back, shaking her head. "No way, it will hurt too much."

"Doesn't it hurt now?"

Dani sighed. Seth was out of their bed, tying a second knot in his maroon robe.

"It's ok Seth, it will disappear. Really."

Her words bounced off the walls. He was downstairs finding the needle.

Dani considered locking herself in the bathroom. The thought of a needle digging into her skin was enough to make her shake. It was the same kind of feeling she had when she and Seth had a conflict. Even though their fights were typical for newlyweds, she feared them. They reminded her of her parents. Those fights were caustic and vengeful, deep wounds forever embedded in them, Dani, and Dani's younger brother. Dani never wanted to live that way.

"Ready for surgery?" Seth smiled, needle in hand.

Dani couldn't stop shaking. She thought her head would spin off her body.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong? This is going to hurt less than what you're feeling right now."

"I can't. I'm scared."

"Don't you trust me? I'd never hurt you on purpose."

Dani started to sob. The truth stabbed at her spirit.

"What? What did I do?"

Dani stared at her finger, using it to wipe off the tears. She took a few deep breaths.

"Splinters are like words. I realized how deep hurtful words go. I hate when we fight. It reminds me of"

"Your parents."

Seth finished. Dani nodded. Seth sat next to her, holding her close.

"Good point, splinters hurt and so do words. But you know, I think of the needle as what God does to us. It's scary to trust Him, it feels like it would hurt worse than the wound, but it actually is the best thing. But if you leave the splinter in there, it could get infected and spread. We've both seen what poisoned words can do. So really, taking the splinter out is the smart thing to do."

She glanced at the needle.

"I never thought of it that way. You know, I get so scared when we fight. I'm afraid you'll leave or that we'll end up miserable like my parents. My instinct tells me to run. Just like now. That needle looks so scary but you're right, it's a tool for healing. Okay, I can do this. No, wait."

Seth looked in her watery blue eyes.

"What? What do you mean wait?"

"I mean not I can do this, but we can. We can do this."

Julie Arduini is devoted to writing for Christ in ways that encourage and inspire. A graduate of the Christian Writer's Guild, her writing resume is on her blog's sidebar. Happily married to Tom, they have two children.

Her website is: thesurrenderedscribe.blogspot.com

Anne Graham Lotz accepts speaking invitations worldwide, is founder of AnGeL Ministries, and is the award-winning author of 11 books, including her signature title, Just Give Me Jesus.

She is the second of the five children of evangelist Billy Graham and his wife Ruth Graham. She taught a weekly Bible Study Fellowship class for 12 years then founded AnGeL Ministries. The ministry’s name is derived from the initials of Anne Graham Lotz (AGL). It is an independent, non-profit organization based in Raleigh, North Carolina and serves as the umbrella organization for the diverse ministry of Anne Graham Lotz – including her many books, DVDs, CDs and speaking engagements as well as special events.

The Just Give Me Jesus event is designed to be a life-changing revival for women. It is free of charge. Over the course of 10 years, Anne has offered this revival in 34 cities around the world. It is next in Augusta, GA September 21-22, 2012 at the James Brown Arena.

I think one of the best ways to describe what happens when Jesus comes into your heart is cleaning the bathroom. Why the bathroom and not the kitchen? Well, because the bathroom is generally the most disgusting part of the house, and in many cases, an unclean heart is all the more so.

Yesterday I cleaned my bathroom and painted it. As I found myself on my knees, bent over the bathtub to scrub away the grime, I thought about how many of us get in the same position to ask God to make us clean inside. Some areas that I scrubbed the dirt came right off easily. Other areas I had to work a little harder to make the stain disappear. Likewise, some sins in our life will almost magically disappear when we ask for God's help, but then there are others that, although they may not disappear all at once, we can be sure that the Almighty is scrubbing at them to take them away.

When I got ready to paint, I stood on a chair so I could reach up near the ceiling. Imagine my surprise when I looked down and saw a hidden spot of dirt and grime, the top of my medicine cabinet! For all the times I had cleaned that bathroom, I had forgotten about this hidden area and boy, did it show!

The very same thing can happen with our hearts. Perhaps there is something that the Lord had cleaned us from, but we neglected to upkeep by staying close to Him and studying His Word. Before you know it, that hidden, dirty spot in our hearts will become bigger and more of a mess. Eventually, though, it will be seen!

I wasted no time cleaning that filthy shelf. In the same manner, we should waste no time in asking the Lord to clean any sin that may have been hidden from us and now is as plain as a grimy spot in a clean bathroom!

As I began painting, there were areas on the wall that had little cracks or chips. I used my paint brush to fill in these little gaps and bumps. The paint did a wonderful job of camouflage, making them not quite so unsightly. They are still there, though; I may be the only one who knows it, because I know where to look. I can still see them lightly through the paint if I look very closely.

It's the same with scars we may carry on our heart. The Lord heals our heart, but it's true that we may carry some consequences from our past sins. We have our memories of who we were before Christ came into our lives, and some may be downright ugly. The Lord is so good to make our hearts new, but to leave these little reminders so that we can be grateful for how much He has changed our lives. And we can use our experiences of where we came from to help others.

So the next time you look at your dirty bathroom and need some motivation to get that room clean, meditate upon how similar it is to what God has done to your heart. Thank goodness He didn't put it off another day!

Noel Kline is blessed to be a stay at home wife and mom. A member of Mehoopany Baptist Church and volunteer at the local hospital, she writes in hope of encouraging, inspiring and sharing something that will make you smile and praise God. Her blog: noelkline.wordpress.com

In 2006, Katharine Jefferts Schori was the first woman to become the United States Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop. She became chief pastor to 2.4 million members in some 7,600 congregations in the U.S. and convocation of churches in Europe, spanning 16 countries.

The Episcopal Church is one of 38 provinces of the 73 million member Anglican Communion. Jefferts Schori is the first woman in the Anglican Church's five-century history to serve as head of one of its provinces.

Before becoming Presiding Bishop, she was Bishop of Nevada. A former university professor, Jefferts Schori is an oceanographer and airplane pilot. She and her husband, Richard Miles Schori, a retired theoretical mathematician, have one daughter who is a first lieutenant and pilot in the U.S. Air Force.