It's amazing that I stayed this long in a place where I was just stopping by for two weeks. It goes to show how our plans are not always God's purposes. But I am grateful to God for guiding my every step, especially during a time when I was blinded by sorrow. The Lord has been very good to me. He surely loves the way I love to love; passionately, unconditionally and intensely. It must be why we are called his children.
"Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21
I can still remember the day I accepted the Son of God as my Savior. I was barely sixteen, sweet, innocent and very naïve mind you. Fortunately, the Lord took my hand all the way and my heart was inclined to His Word and not man's.
The baby steps were difficult, but very important. I stumbled many times in the beginning because I wanted to run when I still crawled. I held religion close to heart, obeying His Word at each letter. Now that I've grown more in the Lord, I've come to understand it is not about religion, but about a wonderful relationship with our heavenly father. For you must know, we no longer live under the law but under the grace of God.
As the years passed, I'm very pleased to say I was 'convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, would be able to separate me from the love of God that is in Jesus our Lord'. (Romans 8:38-39)
Yet, I learned there are times when the weak say we are strong, but don't necessarily feel it. We lose hope and our faith diminishes. The struggles and scars in the battles of life leave us breathless. And sometimes we walk away from God, not realizing leaving Him behind is the worst mistake we could possibly make. We try it our way for a while and when we notice it doesn't work without the Lord in the equation, we come back to Him. If you've been here at any point in your life, then you know that it only takes one prayer to get back into God's good graces. The good thing is He doesn't hold a grudge. He will love you even when it looks like He doesn't. He will love you even when you've left him a dozen times or betrayed him a hundred more.
If you don't remember anything else in life, remember this: The Lord is a very loving Father. There will always be room at his house for you. He will always gather you with loving kindness and tender mercies. Don't give up or disappear on Him cause He hasn't given up on you.
6 comments:
A truly lovely post Ellie and very wise words about God. I totally agree that it's not about religion but our relationship with God. Things happen in our lives and our faith can be sorely challenged, but we cannot manage without him. Sending blessings your way.
Hello, pretty girl!
What WONDROUS thing to have realization of your Higher Power, God, for the last 25 years! Even though He was with you those years before, right?
I turned my back on God--willingly--for many years until finally surrendering for REAL! To God, not to a man-made set of rules, although probably follow rules w/o knowing--grin!
A quote I like, although I believe the author did have a closer connection, than is implied here:
"When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion." - Abraham Lincoln
Every day I lear things, but especially when I read posts like this one...learn or reaffirm!
THANK YOU!
Thanks Diane! I for one couldn't live without him. 😉
That Lincoln was a very wise man, Steve. When we are his chosen, we have no choice but to surrender. We could never go too far 😪
As David wrote: "Our times are in the Father's Hand." We plan, we strive, and God shows us another way. May the following days be even more a blessing for you. Thanks for the comment on my blog. :-)
"Ellie Kings" has been included in the Sites To See for this week. Be assured that I hope this helps to point many new visitors in your direction.
http://asthecrackerheadcrumbles.blogspot.com/2013/12/sites-to-see_27.html
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