Ten more days. Ten more days and a lot of ground to cover. I hope I make it through everything I’m supposed to learn!!
God took me back to the “always trusts” thing first thing this morning.
I was so looking forward to the prayer walk at the retreat. I went to this same retreat last year, and God met me in one of the most powerful ways of my life as I sat under a tree during the prayer walk. I was a bit dismayed this year to discover they’d constructed a climbing wall in my Jesus spot. I had to find a new bit of ground to claim for my learning area.
So I sat down near the water again – under a tree. Something had to stay consistent. Let me just explain something here. Last year, I was so overwhelmed by all that God taught me, that I ended up taking pictures of everything – the trees, the sun, the spot under the tree where I sat – all of it. I made a scrapbook page of my learning time with God. So today, when I went out in search of this year’s Jesus spot, I took my camera with me intending to document it all.
Several women sat nearby when God sent a lesson my way. The lesson included a duck swimming in the waters near the shore. One duck. He swam by, God used him, and he was gone. I wanted to take a picture but chickened out; I was afraid of what the ladies would say if they saw me taking pictures of ducks when I was supposed to be praying. So, pray I did. I prayed for God to send another duck. I would take a picture if He could just send me a duck. I waited and waited. No ducks. I began to wonder if this was just going to have to be an un-documented moment.
Then I saw him – a duck. And another – and another. Ducks everywhere. I got about five pictures! And as they swam and played, God asked again: Do you trust Me? Okay, God. If you sent a duck for a scrapbook picture, I know You can find the husband. Love always trusts. And love always comes through.
Love always hopes, always perseveres. As my thoughts leaned more in that direction, I thought about a friendship that today just seemed easier to walk away from. It was getting to be a hard one – and I was tired. I thought to myself, “Well, maybe I should just cut my losses and walk away from it.” NO!
Love always hopes. Love always perseveres. As I love others, I need to live in the hope of better times when the rocky moments come. And I need to stay with it regardless of how hard it seems to be.
Jesus always has hope in me – for my improvement. And He always perseveres in loving me even when I know I have to exhaust Him. Except that you can’t exhaust God.
How perfect that after days and days of studying about what love is NOT, I was able to study what love IS. I was able to learn it while resting and protecting myself and my love with God. I was able to gain hope of my own in learning to love…in learning to love myself, my God, and my friends.
Could not have been a more perfect end to this weekend and this sentence in 1 Corinthians 13!!
God took me back to the “always trusts” thing first thing this morning.
I was so looking forward to the prayer walk at the retreat. I went to this same retreat last year, and God met me in one of the most powerful ways of my life as I sat under a tree during the prayer walk. I was a bit dismayed this year to discover they’d constructed a climbing wall in my Jesus spot. I had to find a new bit of ground to claim for my learning area.
So I sat down near the water again – under a tree. Something had to stay consistent. Let me just explain something here. Last year, I was so overwhelmed by all that God taught me, that I ended up taking pictures of everything – the trees, the sun, the spot under the tree where I sat – all of it. I made a scrapbook page of my learning time with God. So today, when I went out in search of this year’s Jesus spot, I took my camera with me intending to document it all.
Several women sat nearby when God sent a lesson my way. The lesson included a duck swimming in the waters near the shore. One duck. He swam by, God used him, and he was gone. I wanted to take a picture but chickened out; I was afraid of what the ladies would say if they saw me taking pictures of ducks when I was supposed to be praying. So, pray I did. I prayed for God to send another duck. I would take a picture if He could just send me a duck. I waited and waited. No ducks. I began to wonder if this was just going to have to be an un-documented moment.
Then I saw him – a duck. And another – and another. Ducks everywhere. I got about five pictures! And as they swam and played, God asked again: Do you trust Me? Okay, God. If you sent a duck for a scrapbook picture, I know You can find the husband. Love always trusts. And love always comes through.
Love always hopes, always perseveres. As my thoughts leaned more in that direction, I thought about a friendship that today just seemed easier to walk away from. It was getting to be a hard one – and I was tired. I thought to myself, “Well, maybe I should just cut my losses and walk away from it.” NO!
Love always hopes. Love always perseveres. As I love others, I need to live in the hope of better times when the rocky moments come. And I need to stay with it regardless of how hard it seems to be.
Jesus always has hope in me – for my improvement. And He always perseveres in loving me even when I know I have to exhaust Him. Except that you can’t exhaust God.
How perfect that after days and days of studying about what love is NOT, I was able to study what love IS. I was able to learn it while resting and protecting myself and my love with God. I was able to gain hope of my own in learning to love…in learning to love myself, my God, and my friends.
Could not have been a more perfect end to this weekend and this sentence in 1 Corinthians 13!!
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