June 2, 2011

After a long, cold, and oh-so-snowy winter, the newness of spring is a long-awaited joy. The city has come to life again: people actually use the local parks, watermelon is on sale, and I everything just smells like new. I love the beauty of the changing seasons. This year in particular, spring seems to have come at just the right time...
The past nine months have, to a large extent, represented a season of darkness for me. A combination of being hurt and living in bitterness gave Satan footholds in my life, footholds that I am only now beginning to break free from. A few weeks ago the Lord spoke to me through Ephesians 4:31-32 "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." It hit me like a tun of bricks as the Holy Spirit reminded my of how I had been grieving Him. It is time to be done. It is time to return. It is time to move out of the dark, cold season and into the newness and joy of "spring".

"Therefore, return to your God.

Observe kindness and justice,

and wait for your God continually"

Hosea 13:2

As a deliberate act of returning, and in order to obediently "tell of all His wondrous works" (Psalm 105:2), I am committing to write daily about how God has shown up in my life. 1 Chronicles 16:12 tells us to "remember His wonderful deeds which He has done". So, what wonderful work has God done today?

he's got the whole world in his hands....

Putting the more "common" miracles aside (like the fact that He currently holds the entire universe together- Col 1:17), today the Lord blessed Brian and I in a very special way. After years of praying for a dear friend of ours, Brian had an incredible opportunity to share Christ with him. Brian came home ecstatic from their meeting, filled with the obvious excitement that comes only when God has shown up! A conversation that went from marriage, to legacy, to eternal security left Brian with an divinely-appointed opportunity to share the Truth in love. A definite answer to prayer.

Lord thank you for being a God who hears our prayers. Thank you for showing up and revealing your glory through Brian's conversation with His friend. I pray that you would soften his heart and lead him toward the truth of all that you are. I'm so sorry for the darkness that I have dwelt in for the past months- would you draw me back to yourself, restoring my own brokenness and letting me see who you are once more.