Jubliee

The Lord has spoken to my heart like never before since Shawn left. That was true this spring as well, but not so much as now. Then my heart was breaking and He put balm on it. Now he is teaching me - pushing me toward the prize, pulling me closer to Himself. It is wonderful. And terrible all at once. I long for Shawn's arms around me. People ask "Why??!?! After what he has done?!?!" But it is the physical strength of them that I miss. I don't think - can't imagine - my life single forever. There too though, God is faithful.

I have re-done my bedroom nook in whites and creams. It is pretty. I burned our bed and put in a twin size. Just right for me. My cat sleeps with me now. That's sortof pathetic if I think about it very much, but I like her. Did I tell you about Jubliee? I don't think I did! Here's a picture:

She came on my birthday (the 20th of November). I was up all night pretty much, thinking, thinking, praying, reading the Word, praying, crying... and woke up after a doze to make coffee. The Lord gave me this peace and said that this was going to be my "year of jubilee". I didn't know exactly what that meant so I studied it and this is what I found:

Jubilee: a joyful shout or clangour of trumpets, the name of the great semi-centennial festival of the Hebrews. It lasted for a year. During this year the land was to be fallow, and the Israelites were only permitted to gather the spontaneous produce of the fields ( Lev 25:11,12). All landed property during that year reverted to its original owner ( 13-34; 27:16-24), and all who were slaves were set free ( 25:39-54), and all debts were remitted. The return of the jubilee year was proclaimed by a blast of trumpets which sounded throughout the land. There is no record in Scripture of the actual observance of this festival, but there are numerous allusions ( Isa 5:7,8,9,10; 61:1,2; Eze 7:12,13; Neh 5:1-19; 2Ch 36:21) which place it beyond a doubt that it was observed.

The advantages of this institution were manifold. "1. It would prevent the accumulation of land on the part of a few to the detriment of the community at large. 2. It would render it impossible for any one to be born to absolute poverty, since every one had his hereditary land. 3. It would preclude those inequalities which are produced by extremes of riches and poverty, and which make one man domineer over another. 4. It would utterly do away with slavery. 5. It would afford a fresh opportunity to those who were reduced by adverse circumstances to begin again their career of industry in the patrimony which they had temporarily forfeited. 6. It would periodically rectify the disorders which crept into the state in the course of time, preclude the division of the people into nobles and plebeians, and preserve the theocracy inviolate."

So obviously, when the children clamoured in with the "new cat" I clutched onto her and named her "Jubilee".