The Flood I

Jewels From the River: The Flood

Judy Bauman

www.thefathersloveim.org

Posted September 17, 2009

This is the first in a series on the flood at the River; I am unsure how many parts it will have. This started on May 19, 2009 and I have not yet seen its end.

Jewels From the River: The Flood I

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. Romans 8:18, 19

May 19, 2009

Early in the morning I woke up hearing the Lord's gentle whisper saying, "Come into My garden." It was a perfect morning to go to the river. After a time of worship and journaling praises to God, I asked if the Lord would beckon me to come; again I heard Him say, "Come into My garden."

As I walk down the wooded path leading to the River, I notice that as I get closer the area looks markedly different. There has been a flood and the whole area is torn up. This sickens me. I know it can take years for a region to recover from such devastation. I begin to cry and then weep. I cannot even walk; all I can do is cover my face and sob. I feel the Lord's arms come around my shoulders and I bury my head in His chest and weep. (In the natural I am not experiencing any emotion - which is unusual given the depth of the emotion I feel in the spirit.)

"Why Lord?" I ask. "Why did this have to happen here? Why couldn't You have protected it here in this place? This is OUR meeting place!" I look around and see the destruction and the mess. I bury my face into His chest and continue to cry.

"Get it out; get it all out, Honey." He pats and rubs my back and holds me close. Suddenly, through my blubbering tears, I become aware of His heartbeat. I am reminded what He said to me in 2005 when I went to the mountains for prayer. He came to me while I was laying face down on the ground, laid His hands on the crown of my head and said, "It's My love, It's My love. It's My love, it's My love, it's My love, it's My love." Physically I felt heat on my head and thought maybe it was the sun shining on the back of my head, but when I looked, I was in the shade. Later He explained that everything He does is because of His love for us whether we understand it or not.

Leaning in to hear His heartbeat I hear it get louder and louder with each beat - ba-bump, BA-bump, BA-BUMP, BAH-BUMP.

I breathe in deeply and let out a long sigh and do this several times. As I gain my composure, I look around at the River and all the damage; then I look into His eyes. It reminds me of the movie The Matrix*. His eyes were not like eyes at all, but like looking at the sea in the night or like a large black movie screen. I am looking into His eyes, but what I am seeing is a picture of us working to clean up the mess. (*In the Matrix one can learn many things and move supernaturally when you realize you are in another realm. You can move supernaturally if you understand you are in the Matrix.)

The Lord's voice breaks into my vision, "You know, Judy, a lot of new beginnings start from ruins. Fires, floods, earthquakes, even accidents can be the end of one thing, but the beginning of another. This all looks bad now, but we will work to clean it up and when you see it in the next season, you will see the growth. This is much like your pruning, child." (Many things and even people have been pruned from my life. I have learned that once the Lord trims back a branch in our life, trying to stick it back is futile.)

"So what does this represent in the natural, Lord?"

He just looks at me - like I am being really dense.

"Okay, I have my ideas of what this is, but I ask because I don't want to assume, and Lord, You know and I know things are not always obvious and many times - no most times - You have multi-faceted things going on."

He lets out a hearty laugh - holding His belly.

"Yes, I do." He laughs some more. I want to tease Him about Him thinking He is so funny, because I know I am safe to joke with Him, but instead I just watch Him laugh. He's so beautiful and radiant! He is so glorious! Watching Him laugh leads me to believe everything is going to be fine and that He will share more with me in His timing. I don't understand His invitation to come into His garden to find such terrible destruction; however, if I would have to guess, it is because He anoints us with gladness when we are mourning, He can make beauty out of ashes, and gives us a robe of praise to replace our rags of despair. Jesus is so amazingly wonderful! Even as I read this I realize that His invitation is at the beginning of something new. And we will see it together.