In school, my teachers always said never to preface your work with a disclaimer. Well, here's my disclaimer...
I wrote this a few weeks ago on the way to Edinburgh for travel weekend. I forgot about it and just found it today. I wasn’t going to post it but then I thought, why not? I reread what I had written and was encouraged by it. Even though these were my thoughts from two weeks ago, they're still true. I hope this post will serve as an encouragement to anyone who might read it.
I wrote this a few weeks ago on the way to Edinburgh for travel weekend. I forgot about it and just found it today. I wasn’t going to post it but then I thought, why not? I reread what I had written and was encouraged by it. Even though these were my thoughts from two weeks ago, they're still true. I hope this post will serve as an encouragement to anyone who might read it.
October 28, 2011. A busy bus through the English countryside. The sun streams through the windows and lights up roadside fields. IPods plugged in, conversations buzzing. Edinburgh excitement is in the air. 5 weeks into school and 6 weeks until Christmas. I count my blessings and give thanks.
Thanks for being thousands of miles away from home?
Thanks for the homesick feelings and loneliness felt all too often in the past weeks?
A verse runs through my mind, “Whoever loves his father and mother more than me, is not worthy of me.”
Wait. Isn’t Love a fruit of the Spirit? Since when does it separate us from God? Imperfect, selfish love leads to unsatisfied, ungrateful longings. I want to experience perfect love. The only one who can offer a life of perfect love is He who is love. Leaving everyone I know and moving to a different country hasn’t been as wonderful as I thought. It’s been difficult, frustrating, lonely. It’s been life changing. But amidst the darkness, God speaks. He always comforts. Always provides.
ALWAYS loves.
And as I stand in the dark, I have a hand to hold. I am thankful to be away from everyone I know because I grasp His hand tighter. I can step forward completely trusting in His faithfulness as I gaze back on past memories. I am thankful for all I have at home. I am so thankful I have people to miss! A new mindset guides my steps. A mindset of thankfulness. Gratitude for everything. Perfect love. I tell myself I will never take anything for granted. But, I know I will fail. And even when I fail, he loves me. –Perfect love. Life changing, and I get to experience this?
“Whoever loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.”
I had to move to a different continent to fully understand the importance of this verse. And from thousands of miles away, my heart is warmed. He holds my heart. Perfect love is no longer a search. It's written in the every day of life. As I count my blessings, I see God’s hand.
He offers a life of perfect love, and I accept.
Thanks for being thousands of miles away from home?
Thanks for the homesick feelings and loneliness felt all too often in the past weeks?
A verse runs through my mind, “Whoever loves his father and mother more than me, is not worthy of me.”
Wait. Isn’t Love a fruit of the Spirit? Since when does it separate us from God? Imperfect, selfish love leads to unsatisfied, ungrateful longings. I want to experience perfect love. The only one who can offer a life of perfect love is He who is love. Leaving everyone I know and moving to a different country hasn’t been as wonderful as I thought. It’s been difficult, frustrating, lonely. It’s been life changing. But amidst the darkness, God speaks. He always comforts. Always provides.
ALWAYS loves.
And as I stand in the dark, I have a hand to hold. I am thankful to be away from everyone I know because I grasp His hand tighter. I can step forward completely trusting in His faithfulness as I gaze back on past memories. I am thankful for all I have at home. I am so thankful I have people to miss! A new mindset guides my steps. A mindset of thankfulness. Gratitude for everything. Perfect love. I tell myself I will never take anything for granted. But, I know I will fail. And even when I fail, he loves me. –Perfect love. Life changing, and I get to experience this?
“Whoever loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.”
I had to move to a different continent to fully understand the importance of this verse. And from thousands of miles away, my heart is warmed. He holds my heart. Perfect love is no longer a search. It's written in the every day of life. As I count my blessings, I see God’s hand.
He offers a life of perfect love, and I accept.
Life changing.
