On Saturday, we began our excursion standing in the street
in a circle of prayer, thanking God and asking for His safekeeping over our
travels.
We were spending a weekend in
Hot Springs, AR, as a family. So, we went on our way, women piled in one
car and the men in another. The next three hours were filled with deep
conversation.
When we arrived at the condo,
although its beauty was anticipated, I could not have engineered such exquisite
splendor in my own mind. The waves landing on the rocks, the red hues of
dusk dancing with the fading aquamarine sky. An overwhelming expanse of
God’s glory was placed directly in front of us.
In our lives there are moments
God has designated for our feasting and celebration. These moments are
born from walking on the path He carved so delicately for our hearts—a path
whose only direction leads closer to Him.
As I stood near the banks of
the water, sunset draped over our shoulders, I both held him and beheld him.
Just as Jesus beheld Simon, as
he looked into Simon, I looked into him and saw multitudes of clarity.
His heart. The path God carved for him. For me. For us.
I saw God Himself in the moment. A smile. God was joyous.
The weekend carried on.
Family dinners, trips to Kroger for groceries, an unfinished game of Cranium,
shopping on the strip. Out of all of our many pleasant, endearing
activities, my favorite was that which took place on Sunday morning.
As a family, we sat around the
small dining table, our stomachs delighting in fresh cinnamon rolls. Hot
coffee in hand, we opened our Bibles. We were led in a special time with
the Lord, questions were asked, and prayer was said by all at the end. I
reveled in the place I never thought I’d be. In my sweetest dreams never
did it occur to me that my heart’s desires would be met—and so very all at
once, and so very out of nowhere.
My heart has been so
tenderized by the hardships of a past life, so achy and wounded that only
Christ alone could rehabilitate me. He came in and filled the brokenness
with Himself. And only after God dressed the wound could I be prepared
for love. Only after loving God completely would I be capable of loving
others. Only after letting God love me would I be able to let others love
me.
Suddenly I have a love, a
brother, a sister, a mother, and a father. I have a spiritual family.
