God is so good to me. He speaks to me so clearly when I am running. I was running along this morning, and breathing prayer as I always do when I run....its soo cool how when I run my prayers just pour out of me in this disconnected-desires-and compassions-and all the cares of my heart-form!!
I have been thinking about this Ladies Retreat that I am speaking at in Oc.t and went to bed thinking about this verse in John..."But as many as recieved Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name."
And this in Ephesians.."For by grace you have been saved thru faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."
God has been impressing me for the past week that I need to be very prepared to simply share the Gospel..that it needs to be part of what I speak. Many of the people who attend this church are needy....needier than most that I rub shoulders with on a regular basis, and that makes them hungrier to know Jesus. They are people with mental illness problems, people who have been in and out of jail, people who live in poverty, and people who have just not fit in other church situations. Its an awesome ministry!
I keep thinking of my life, the mountains and the valleys that I have experienced and the way God is allowing me to see ALL as His gifts. I want to be able to convey that and to help others see the difficulties of life as ways that God draws us close to Him....they are not curses, they are gifts. And what God has been impressing me with is...that others can NEVER have joy in life and especially during the trials of life unless they have recieved the gift of salvation. What Jesus did for us is THE ULTIMATE gift!!!
But in light of all that this morning...I cant overflow that gift, my love for Jesus, the reality that ALL is grace unless I REALLY live it!! If I really trust God...than yes, it ok to be sad today be cause I am extremely disappointed, but there is still joy in my life and my countenance because I trust that all is grace and there are gifts within this package for me today! Ways that God has to show me He loves my family.
So I was running along and thinking about all this and praying about my day, when all of a sudden I look up and there is a whole FLOCK of deer scattering both ways on the road. They were right in front of me and I never even saw them! and God so gently and beautifully whispered to me...."You miss what I have for you if your head is down!!!!"
Oh my friends,....it was the most vivd and beautiful illustration EVER!!
BUT...What does God do next???..I look up and there right next to me on the bank is the mama deer who scattered the opposite direction of her babies and was there waiting to cross the road. My head was down again and I didnt even see her!!!! God knows I am sooo thick-headed that again He says..."You miss what I have for you if your head is down!!!"
So this time I kept my head up and watched and walked slowly and there in the brush right beside me is Mama deer...
she stood and I stood and we just looked into each others eyes for the longest time as still as could be!! She had these big beautiful brown eyes that were saying..I just want to go across the road to my babies!!..and she meandered up thru the brush on the side of the road. and as I walked God just kept whispering to me..."Be still and know that I am God...Be still and know that I am God"
Sooooo......on this day of disappointment I will keep my head up, I will be still and know that God is God and He loves us and is in control, I will be prepared to share how much I love Jesus with others, and I can have joy today because I trust that inside this gift that I did not choose today there are treasures within and that God will use it to teach me to love Him more!!!
I agree. I can't help but think that perhaps that mama deer just wanting to cross the road to get to her babies was God's messenger of sorts - meeting you where you're at today - and communicating so much in such a personal, creative & timely way ... that He knows exactly how you feel...how you desperately want to be with your babies (grandbabies!) too - but that now, for whatever reason, is a time for you to do as you feel compelled to do - to be still - to stay where you are even if you don't know/understand "why".
ReplyDeleteI once had a similar but different experience involving a deer that I saw from a hospital parking lot as a friend was dying in the hospital. Just a sense of His presence and even of a "message" that I can only claim but can't really explain ... perhaps one day when we do get to visit again, I'll give it a try tho' :)
Thanks Joyce...I smiled about your words all day yesterday....the deer and I both wanting the same thing, to be with our babies! thanks for caring, thanks for reading my babble...and Lord willing next weekend I will be in your neck of the woods!! Hope we can spend a little time together!
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