A Beautiful Sacrifice

I’ve built a beautiful castle.
One with grand staircases & endless rooms. One with magnificent chandeliers & stone walkways. Jewels at every glance.
One that shouts “hard work” in its very existence. One that everyone desires from the outside.

It is a beautiful castle, that took many beautiful years to make.
And every step of that process, guided by a good, good Father who knows all the divine guidelines that work.
Patient with me as I falter, or misinterpret directions.
Championing me as I succeed, or move on to the next step.
I guess He knew so very well that it was more about the process than the product, even when I didn’t.

So when my good, good Father asks me for this beautiful castle, and says “Honey, Can I have it back?”
My deepest, most vulnerable response is “Yes, Lord, I give it to you so that I can have more of You in return.”

It is a relationship of trust & love that allows me to grip onto the things I’ve built more loosely, so that I can grip onto Him more tightly.
And with that… the burning realization that when the foundation becomes faulty, this beautiful thing I’ve built becomes one that crumbles instantly at the blink of an eye.
It is only Him - the only true foundation I have ever known - that can sustain the things I can’t.

So today and every day, I courageously lay my castle at the altar, as I ask of a good God, “Would you give me more of You”.
And it is His presence that is so moved by this grand sacrifice of mine, even when no one else recognizes just how difficult of a sacrifice it is.
And yet, the most valuable sacrifice is one that is most costly.
So I find joy in this beautiful sacrifice, as I continue to give it up as incense, to the One who will make something beautiful out of me.
Out of us.