Ten Meetings

Nadiiya Medvedyeva, Kyiv, Ukraine

I am experiencing a miracle again.

For me, this is about how I enter each day with a quiet spirit, in stillness, because I have by grace a priceless pass to the place where Your Holy Word lives and breathes.

And here in this space a miracle happens -- regardless of anything else that may be going on, whatever else may be outside the window or whatever else is in my heart.

For me, my everyday morning miracle is to feel Your Presence through the ages, over countless years, through these stories You wrote for me, delivered by heroes I have never met.

After these miraculous meetings with you, I revive. I revive for life. For action. I can dream again. 

The impossible becomes possible. Faith comes to life. Hope puts on her invincible clothes, and Love covers the naked and powerless.

And I am writing, trying to convey what happens during these meetings with Your Word through these simple letters on paper.

It's hard to convey, but I pray and I try.

So here before you now, may my thoughts spring to life, inspired by these meetings in the very presence of Greatness Himself. 

May this be an inspiration for each of you -- in whatever season you find yourself – to find renewal for whatever needs refreshing.

And may the Miracle come again. Like this one: 

Meeting on the roof of the house

Along the lines of this: "Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.” (Luke 5:18-19 NIV)

"Have you ever tried taking a roof apart?"

"What for?" - You might ask me.
Indeed. What for?

If the entrance is blocked, but you desperately need a way in, you have to get to see Him!

The windows are broken, and the desire to meet the one you love burns in you. And He is there, behind a tightly closed door. He is busy, He is distracted by doctors and scientists -- those who think they know everything and can help everyone. They come from the ends of the world, come to check, to test, to weigh and to measure and to evaluate. And I, I really need Him, not for measuring and comparing -- I need to be able to lie my exhausted soul down and be wrapped in His ethereal blue. 

She cannot go further, cannot think and feel -- she is like an overstretched string.

Well, I decided to dismantle this roof. The roof was covered with tiles of cynicism, disbelief, its visible beauty made up of the futility and meaninglessness of existence, and painted with hopelessness played against the sun with all the colors of the rainbow, creating an impression of pure positivity.

I will take apart these tiles, no matter how hard it is to do. So what if I look ridiculous to everyone who sees me. So what!

"Soon I will see Him," my mind repeated and supported me!

You raised your head to see dust and debris pouring down from the roof above you. And I had tried so very hard not to litter! 

A ray of light crept into the hole I made in the roof and illuminated your sky-blue eyes, which were smiling faintly -- how beautiful they are!

Your smile warmed me and gave me real hope!

My soul fell at Your feet into clear blue, and, bending over to me, You whispered: "My dear, sweet one, I forgive you. Get up and walk!"

Meeting on the shore of the lake

Based on John 21:3. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.”

This coming summer, I will definitely find a free evening, get into a boat and sail, cast my nets in the hope of retrieving my dead dreams from the bottom of Lake "Past.” Time after time, I will cast my nets, I will feel the pain in my tired hands as they keep coming up empty.  I will say to myself: no! Keep going all night! I will definitely pull something up and be able to revive old hopes!

And in the morning, hiding in an old, children's blanket, I will sleep in this boat! Is it possible to sleep peacefully here?

Opening my eyes, I will feel a pleasant wind on my face and see a soft light on the shore, and the Voice in me will say: throw out your nets once more. Despite the fatigue, I will do it and get one hundred and fifty-three living hopes, one hundred and fifty-three living dreams, so weighty, so bright, and the net will not break, will not break...

I can't wait to meet Him, the boat is being pushed by the wind, and it is rushing to the shore. 

I sail and dream: is the cozy fire of Your love waiting for me on the shore? And breakfast with my Friend, Brother? And coffee that never gets cold while you drink it, and a conversation that never ends, because life is with you and this conversation is taking place!

I can always return to the unfulfilling lake, but I will remember that on the shore there is the reliable warmth of Your Love and You, the One who gives me new dreams, new zeal and one hundred and fifty-three miracles in return!!!

Meeting on the way home

“So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, “Is this Naomi?”  She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” Ruth 1:19-20 

What new name will I give myself today?

What does my heart feel, what are the fruits in the garden of my soul today?

I look out at the sky, up into space - it's dark, explosions can be heard somewhere.

Somewhere my heroes protect the sky, protect my walls.

My name is Hard, my name is Pain I'm used to.

What is the name of this pain?

Stupid, unbearable -- bearable pain?

And somewhere outside, people wake up. Women, men, children -- hurrying to school, to preschool, on a plane, to the seaside, or to the ocean.

I look into space, as if into a rabbit hole, and like never before I understand what Carroll wrote about in Alice in Wonderland.

How strange.
Where is the reality? 

Here with me, or there with the sea and the ocean, kindergartens and schools, smiles and chatter of everyday life?

And there are those who were Gullivers of faith for me, and where are these Gullivers, if they are held down now and paralyzed by such a small tangle as fear?

My name today is Disappointment.

The warm autumn of Your love today will warm both that pain and that disappointment, add delicious milk, cinnamon, and cardamom to this drink.

I will go on about my day, walking around under the sky of the city, as if it is the safest place in the world for me in these dangerous times!

It's safe because You told me so quietly in the confines of my heart. Is there anything on earth that could ever take you away from Me?

Is there anything in the whole wide world that has the power to destroy Your Protection?

My name today is "Yours."

Author bio

My name is Nadia Novokhatnia-Medvedeva. I was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine. At the age of 19, after graduating from medical school, I met the disciples of Christ, who helped me find answers to long-standing questions that troubled me. In 1992, I accepted Christ in baptism and became a member of the Kyiv Church of Christ.

For more than 30 years, I have devoted my life to serving in the church and I am sincerely grateful to God for this opportunity. God blessed me to become the wife of a beautiful man named Taras and to have two sons, Pavel and Danylo. Together with my husband and a wonderful team, we are engaged in full-time ministry and take care of the church in Kyiv. Last year, I successfully graduated from the Ukrainian Theological Seminary and received a bachelor's degree in practical psychology.

My country has been at war for two years now! These are difficult and dark times for each of us, but like never before in my life I feel the love, presence and care of Our God, through various events and because many people sacrifice their lives and comfort, showing us all how great our Lord is-- Faithful to His promises -- not to leave us, but to save us!