To Rise … is to Grow

The word rise is used more than 164 times in the Bible. It is the foundational premise of Christianity. It is the essence of everything Jesus says, teaches, and does. (It is also considered a feminine word form in the original Hebrew.) And yet, do we rise? Sure, we may get up in the morning and begin trudging through our days, but do we truly rise, into our fullness, our magnificence, our glory?

I will never forget the spring day I watched my three-day-old sorrel filly, Little Pistol, lying in the grass. Her shell-shaped nostrils were flaring in and out as her baby fluff mane caught the morning sun. She had her head resting among dandelions as she stretched out in the warmth of the day. As I stood there watching her out my picture window, something happened.