This That And Another Thing
Thanks so much for rejoicing with me in all that God is doing. We certainly do serve a God who pursues us in different, yet intensely personal ways. It may not always be as dramatic as what you read in that link, but nonetheless, God is there. God does care. His love can transform life.
Many of you wondered how I knew Angie. Well, the long and short of that is that until last week, I really didn't know her. I had followed her blog, but never even commented. I had wept with her through the loss of Audrey and I had sat in awe of the grace that she carried through the days and weeks and months that followed. But I had never spoken to her, or even written to her. But when a cry for help was put out there (thanks to Marla!), many people offered to help, but Angie was the first. She had no idea what she was even signing up for...she just wanted to help. So when Marla called and gave me Angie's number, I was a tad intimidated. And when Todd called to chat about logistics...I was shaking a little bit 
But as soon as I began to speak to both of them, I was completely sure that God was going to do something HUGE with this situation.
You know how, especially in the blog world, we can easily put people on pedestals that in real life are completely unattainable. Well, I had done that with a few people...Marla, Angie, and others. But then I met these women and found that they are every bit as normal as you or I. That they struggle and fight every day with similiar issues that I also fight against...but that is the key...they fight. They fight to live God's love. They fight to make the Word of God tangible and real. They fight to honor the Lord in all that they do. And that drive that urges them to love God with their lives, is what changes the lives of others. It is what calls us back to their blogs and makes their phones ring off the hook. We all want to know that faith...that love...we want to experience the grace that seems to drip from their words. And the great news is that...we can. They have not reached an unattainable level of relationship with God. They have just made a conscious decision to love God with their lives...and we see the outpouring of that. We can all do this...we can all have the grace and the peace and the love that they speak of and that emanates from their lives. All of it...all of them...it is all a gift from God, that any of us can freely choose to accept and to live out.
I came to these revelations as I was chasing Angie's girls around their downstairs couch...and again as I sat on the back deck watching the girls make "cheese babies" out of their string cheese. I couldn't believe that I was sitting in her house or listening to her twins sing a song they had written (watch out world bc those girls can SING!). I spent one evening in their home, but I saw everything I already "knew" come to life around me. I saw the tender way that Angie consoled Kate when she got hurt in the driveway. And I saw the the moments she would steal and cherish up in her heart as her girls played and life went on around us.I saw a beautiful friendship between Angie and C that has developed. And when Todd got home and came into the house it was just as though he had met me 100 other times. We all sat down and had a great, albeit very deep (something about demons I believe) ;), discussion. What I am trying to say here is that these people are every bit as grace-filled and honest and real as they appear in the blogosphere. They are wonderful and they are real and they love Jesus with their lives...and I will forever be indebted to them for showing me how love like that can change the world.
My week in Nashville was incredible. I learned so much at the conference, and I even got to meet up with my favorite prof from Cedarville and his wife one evening. And I met some wonderful Cedarville students. And I got to spend some amazing time with C. I wish I could share with you guys more about her. I really can't because of my position, but suffice to say that this woman LOVES God. He has transformed her life and not only is she different on the inside, but she even looks different on the outside...her face has a radiance that was not there 3 months ago. Her eyes have lost the heavy weight they carried and now shine like the stars. She is seeking truth and is whole heartedly committed to loving God with her own life, no matter the cost. Quite honestly, words cannot even begin to describe the woman that God has made her to be. I still stand in awe...
And now I am home. I taught Tuesday and Thursday and worked Wednesday evening. And when I got home Sunday night, both boys and Jonathan were sick. So it has been a crazy week. My body is tired to its core, but my spirit is still full. Thank you to all of you who prayed for me through my internship....you just got a peek into the stuff I see all the time. Why God chooses to dramatically rescue some and not others, I don't know. But I do know that I couldn't have orchestrated what happened with C even remotely as beautifully as God did. So who am I to question His ways? I know His desire and His heart...and I know the power of His redemption. And I know it is for all of us who are willing to trust the God who is bigger than ourselves. The God who pursues and protects and loves...the God of redemption.
If you don't know this Jesus I speak of, message me. I would love to share Him with you.
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