Accepting the gift of salvation and not bothering to know your Savior is like accepting a beautifully wrapped present and then placing it on a shelf and never discovering the wonderful things inside. A saved life should be a changed life. We either choose to work toward change or we choose to remain as we were. With God’s help our efforts will give us glimpses of Heaven here on Earth and Divine encounters that can be life changing long before we enter the Throne Room of Eternity. I absolutely love discovering more about who God is and am amazed at how distinct His love and adoration is of me among all the creatures and glory of His creation. Who am I indeed? I am nothing, yet to Him I am everything. That will never cease to amaze me regardless of the temporary trappings of this world that overwhelm me at times. If you’ve read until the end, I encourage you sister or brother to give it a try… get to know God a little more today. Pray, read scripture, listen to a worship song and see if He doesn’t perform a small wonder in your world today :)
The above thoughts are a response to my devotional time on this day two years ago (according to my Facebook feed anyway). After an incredible Ladies Retreat with my church sisters and spiritual mothers last weekend, I came away feeling the truth of God’s love in such an intense way, I didn’t want it to end.
One take-away from my weekend included all the support I have to keep on writing and become the author God intends. Embracing His never-ending love is an important part of the process as I prepare for summer and recover from yet another move! He even demonstrated His love by providing us the perfect, yet temporary home adjacent to our previous neighborhood which meant little has changed for our kids.
My youngest FINALLY doesn’t have to change schools, which is a huge blessing!
In His own way, God also gifted me with tangible proof to ignite my writer’s creativity for decades! On my way to the quilt shop (to find fabric to match my daughter’s upcoming wedding colors knowing I should be writing and not quilting over the next five months!) — I noticed the used bookstore was open. Last year, it had been closed so I wasn’t able to explore! So I made a permanent detour, and entered a treasure trove of old books. My husband and I are still on the hunt for a specific, out-of-print title we no longer possess from our daughter’s first books collection, so I always ask if the bookstore owner has a copy of that one first.
She didn’t but what she had was two copies to add to my Illustrated Junior Library collection, as well as a partial set of the 1955 editions of the Bookshelf for Boys and Girls, and a nearly complete (only missing one) set of the 1940 printing of the Book of Knowledge.
Even though I write women’s fiction, I saw these as a delightful edition to my library as well as a vital resource should I ever write a 1940s or 1950s era novel.
In addition to adding to my book collection, I connected with many women, catching up with old friends and making new friends too! We had a blast at the shooting range (I hit all my targets!), and entered into deep worship and prayer Saturday night.
The whole experience proves that God’s love comes in the form of adventure, treasures, as well as during devoted worship.
Assessing God’s Reckless Love Despite My Failures
As an extension to my Wounds to Wins post on Failing to Do the Right Thing, I wanted to make the connection between our failures and God’s promises to love us anyway! In my real life, failing to do the right thing didn’t end with my teenage years. And it didn’t end when I became a Christian either. In my early-to-mid twenties as well as isolated points in my thirties, I made many poor choices. Some even led to dragging my husband and children through the muck and mire of my own built-up dross, until God’s love purified me from my past and made me new yet again.
Other times, it seemed I was the only one suffering as I stewed in the concoction of regret containing all the ingredients of pain, guilt, unworthiness, and shame.
Despite all I’ve learned and know about God’s grace and mercy — and never intentionally acting “wrong” in order to exercise my right to redemption as a sealed Princess of Christ — I still battle with the urge to “DO” something instead of simply “BEING” in His presence.
This list of “dos” or “don’ts” is endless. And I’ve come to understand my “win” from this wound of never being good enough only comes one way:
To accept what Jesus did on the cross.
To try to shoulder the burden of a past choice is like saying all the pain and suffering that comprised his death isn’t good enough for me. To try to earn back the moment of a poor choice is like trying to tell Jesus, you don’t have to die after all — I got this!
Though it’s a daily battle in my mind and heart, I find peace and assurance and my ultimate win over every wound in my Savior alone. As the lyrics of Cory Asbury’s song, Reckless Love, proclaim:
Before I spoke a word, You were singing over me
You have been so, so good to me
Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me
You have been so, so kind to me
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ‘til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it, still You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me
You have been so, so good to me
When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me
You have been so, so kind to me
There’s no shadow You won’t light up
Mountain You won’t climb up
Coming after me
There’s no wall You won’t kick down
Lie You won’t tear down
Coming after me
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc6SSHuZvQE]
Some days I find the need to play and sing along to this song and others like over and over again until its truths push away every doubt and until God’s Love resonates as peace in the deepest parts of my soul.
Oh, God’s reckless love is so amazing, no wonder He’s giving us eternity to sing His praises!
Beautiful post, love the song your included, its also one of my fav.