You never get old, Abba.
this has seriously been the song of my heart today. it’s hard to even know where to begin.
let’s start with this: not everyone connects with their heavenly Father in the same way. But let me describe how He’s designed me to connect with him.
Nature. a BIG one for me. It seems, that in every place I set my feet for a season, he meets me outside. And if it’s raining, under a tree or near an open window. It doesn’t matter if i’m alone on a roof in Kenya, in the forest of North Carolina, or out in a field in the middle of Wisconsin. There’s always a place he shows me. and that’s our special place I can always run to. in those places, i see unmistakably intimate evidence of the Holy Spirit in plants, animals, and the sunlit sky. I can feel His holy presence in the dust beneath my feet and His voice speaks so clearly.
Art. essentially, anything hands on. watercolor or thin black pen in hand, i’m so content. i could rip through pages of a journal for hours with Him. It just doesn’t get old- not even 10 full art journals in. this also includes writing. so so so many letters back and forth with him, concealed within the pages I carry around everywhere with me until they’re all gone. many of you have seen things i’ve shared, but here’s a couple things I’ve made with Him in the past few months.
you may be able to tell, but I love to both wander and create with Jesus. Lately, I’ve been learning so much about intimacy with the Lord. I can see and feel Him expanding my heart for Himself, His people, and His design for my life.
Today, I decided to take a later afternoon walk through the country. Just to be with Him and enjoy Him and be filled after a week FULL of hard work. I walked with Him in circles for over an hour because every time I just wanted to do it again, and talk to Him some more. It seems so silly to walk in circles, but I’ve landed on the fact that it doesn’t matter how the world perceives me because my Abba is so in love with me and I’m so in love with Him. Being with Him today felt like pressing pause on reality, and coming to know a new one: His. and in that, His love and delight for me. how special is that?! He desires to spend that kind of time with ALL OF US and He never runs out of time for us!
Oh Jesus, leave the dust on my shoes from today. I never want to forget the sweet wine and the whimsical adventure it is to take a walk with you!
On the worldrace, something that is intentionally protected in each one of our busy weeks is Sabbath. The beautiful way to both end and start a week with the intention of being filled and finding rest in the Lord. What a gift it is to rest with such a kind Heavenly Father. it’s something we were actually made for! can you believe that?! jesus put it in our spiritual, emotional, and physical dna to neeeed rest with Him. we get to lie down in open green fields and see our reflection through the eyes of living water (psalm 23!)we get to wander with him and rest with him. how sweet it is to have a day set aside for being in the word and enjoying life and that rest?!
What was SO cool about last Sunday was that I was honestly working through a lot emotionally and I felt the Lord inviting me out of my bunk bed and on an adventure with Him to walk and talk. (this is the day I found our special place in Wisconsin) So we did and there’s a field of absolutely beautiful horses right down the road. I took my journal and plopped down right in the grass. I watched those horse for almost an hour. I could not help but thank the Lord for who He is and how he makes something that’s not fun -like processing emotions- into something I want to do with Him. I couldn’t keep my mind off of Psalm 23:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.”
The just absolutely soul moving thing is that God had led me to a green pasture with a pond of still water in front of a few foals laying in the grass in the secure presence of their mommas. I felt like I was living the scripture and God, in “making me lie down (surrendering my stuff),” brought SO much peace to my soul.
A verse that’s also been on my mind quite often is my friend Ruan’s all time favorite verse. Ruan is an amazing friend and Christian I’ve met since being here. He’s from South Africa and he’s just the best. His favorite verse is Matthew 17:20 because it saved his life. That’s what he always says.
“He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
If we can just give God our little bit of faith. If we can just trust God enough to surrender what we’re walking through. If we can just give Him time and space to speak in simply responding to the constant intimacy He invites us into, we would be filled. We would remember His faithfulness that is not dependent on our own faithfulness. We would remember we live in a Kingdom of grace and we actually have access to the way He sees if we’re just willing to seek him and ask. He never runs out, He can always reveal more to us, and He is constantly seeking to hold not just pieces of our heart, but the whole thing.
Matthew 7:7 says, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”
I REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO CARVE OUT SPACE IN YOUR LIFE AND HEART TO SEEK JESUS AND INTEGRATE SABBATH INTO YOUR WEEKLY AND MONTHLY RHYTHMS. JESUS WANTS TO TALK TO YOU AND BE WITH YOU AND LOVE YOU INTIMATELY.
Praying for your relationship with the One who seeks your soul!
Brooke
