I wrote the following on October 31st
When falling in love becomes an obsession.
Every day, I receive the opportunity to fall more deeply in love with the creator of the universe. Such has been this journey through His creations. I have set my feet upon 5 continents over the course of this year. I have seen the wonders of the world, those widely recognized, but many more that only few on this earth have ever seen. And every time I look around myself, I wonder, “Is this really my life?� “Could I really be so lucky to be here right now?� It is just not normal for people to be able to do these kinds of things. But God has chosen me, and He loves me. And He has spent eternity preparing this earth to woo me closer to Him. Everything in the earth is His, and He is in everything. And I see Him every day. It is a realization that the Lord loves to impress, to inspire, and to even romance those whom He loves. Four days ago I was hiking on top of a ridge when a bird that was bigger than me flew silently, effortlessly, proudly, directly overhead. With the Lord whispering in the wind, “That was just for you.� Yesterday I was standing on top of some snowy peak I do not know the name of, overlooking mountain range after mountain range, struck by awe. How do I explain the gifts that the Lord has for me, other than to say that they are precious, and just for me? I have learned countless things this year. But the most beautiful revelation has been that God is desperate to be intimate with me. Not that God wants to know everyone on earth, which of course is true, but more importantly, that God loves me…ME!
I have seen miracles. I have seen the unexplainable. I have eaten food that should not have fed 3 or 4 people, yet strangely fed 11, with enough for seconds. I have had nowhere to sleep at night one minute, and the next, holding the keys to a house. I have walked in to a village where there were no believers, and left with 25 new brothers and sisters. I have seen people who have not eaten in a week, erupt into dancing and laughter. I have seen the joy in the eyes of a teenage boy whose one eye did not work only minutes before. I have heard the shouts of praise of a woman who had lain on a mat, no one knows for how long, who could throw her mat away because her legs could now walk. I have entered a monastery and left a month later, with a dozen new friends who I laughed with every day. I have seen a young boy, left alone by his father, receive hope and healing for wounds unimaginable. I have seen an old man, who’s heart had hardened from 60 years of rejection, melt because of the love of a few strangers, and the One who died for him. I have been a part of the story of a man who had a terminally ill wife, who lived just long enough to hear the Good News, then pass away 3 days later. I have spent a week with a man, who a few months before had been a drug addict and a criminal, have an encounter with the living God, leave behind all the lies that tied him down and decide to rebuild his crumbling marriage. I have loved an orphan who had been abused and abandoned, but rescued and adopted into a new family. I have seen the obedience of a young man and his wife entirely transform a community in the jungle. I have worshiped in secret where it is illegal, lifting up praises so that only my Father can hear. But more importantly than all of these things, I have had my own encounter with the Living God, and realized that God cares more about my heart than if a woman’s legs function. And that every day, every single day, I have the extreme privilege to see the Lord in a new way, and be brought closer, and closer, and closer to Him, because He knows my name.
Its not about the World Race, its not about locations or vocations. Its about opening your eyes and embracing the love that El Shaddai has for you. And then you turn around, and share that same love with the next person in front of you.
