“God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it.” John 3:17 MSG
Good Morning, BelovedOne,
So, the other morning was typical. Routine. Like any other day. Anticipatory December morning. Leave the house, drive eastward, into the sun, to my campus. Morning prayer. I love the space that drive time provides, alone with my Maker. Content. Often reflective. Planning. Thinking. Feeling. Giving over the souls on my heart. “Your will, Lord. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else.”
Sometimes, even when it is cold, the window’s cracked or wide open. And, sometimes I land in surprising places when the crisp of winter air winds its way deep into memory. Gently at first, then there’s poking into those carefully guarded places. The deeper-still places. With a rush, the greatest days of childhood combine and explode into thoughts so vivid you can smell your dad’s t-shirt or see your mom’s raised brow and suddenly you’ve landed in a full sensory overload.
It’s an odd sensation, this flooding of existence with a life gone past, but, it’s not unpleasant. All those memories, good and bad, shout the same message – ‘I am alive’.
I caught myself grinning and wondered how many miles the grin had been there. Then, almost in guilt of the risen joy … I felt that grimace of my trademark (most hated) wrinkle between my eyebrows when I reached that particular day in memory where I must ask myself, “why in thunder did I do that?” and don’t really still have an answer. And, then realize – attempting to come up with an explanation for everything I’ve ever done, even if only to explain it to myself, is like trying to fight the government. Impossible.
DearHeart, the “whys” of our past declares purpose. Those places are simple packages our Savior uses to unpack our spiritual growth. Without mistakes, we’d never find ourselves in a position to need Him. If every decision was a perfect one, we’d never be desperate for His mercy. Without desperation we’d never experience His grace.
Yesterday, our lesson was on ‘Strangely Wrapped Gifts’. Who could have dreamed the Savior of the universe would come to us from the manger of a stable wrapped in swaddling clothes, instead of majestically bursting through the clouds on a commandingly extravagant white horse? But, in God’s perfect plan, the warmly wrapped baby saves us.
In God’s perfect plan, your past, no matter how ugly, is simply a gift to be unwrapped by Jehovah Rapha, The Great Healer. And, His best will grow you from there.
Wake up.
Unpack.
Go.
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