Love, love Isaiah 54. I’ve read it every night for nearly a week.
“Oh, barren woman whom I love – enlarge your tents! Spread out! I am the LORD your Husband. I have called you and I am building you up to be better than before. Get ready to receive My blessings.”
I walked barefoot through grass on my lunch break at work today. This was a busy week and I was feeling a little despondent about not teaching this fall; the school where I taught last year is about 60 students over their projected enrollment. But as I walked laps around the soccer fields nearby, I felt God whispering His love over me in everything:
- The soft grass under my feet
- The warm sun after a week of rain
- The dew that clung to the grass despite the warm temperatures
- The wind rustling through the trees and all around me, calling my name, reminding me that everything that happens is designed to display God’s love for me
- The stillness and solitude, but not loneliness
He reminded me that I am chosen. That I am pursued. That I am loved.
I’ve been wearing a simple silver band on my left index finger – a ring that reminds me, per Jewish Tradition (though it’s usually worn on the right hand) of my Betrothal to my Lord. Whatever happens, I am His.
8.12.2011
8.03.2011
Life Right Now.
I must own my life as it is now, not as I see it in the future. The future is not promised; only this moment is. So why throw away right now for something that is not yet known?
Life right now:
My name is Melissa. I am 23 years old, I live at home, and I drive my parents’ pickup truck. I have paid off half of my student loans and am on track to pay off my last chunk before I turn 24. I recently set financial goals and will have to revamp them soon because they are too easy to attain.
I am a salaried employee, a “Project Administrator/Change Manager” for the Mat-Su School District, making more money than a first-year teacher. I love my job. My biggest task this week is creating a music video to Kanye West’s song “Stronger,” which I rewrote to reflect the software implementation we are beginning on Monday. I really do enjoy the corporate world: having a desk, with a computer purchased and loaded just for me, with the authority to call some shots, and an overactive e-mail account. My boss and I have a similar sense of humor and other employees recognize that I can help them with what they need, even though I haven’t been in this position for a month yet.
I’m getting braces soon. There, I said it. Braces and oral surgery to fix my too-small upper palette and, hopefully, reduce the number of sinus infections I get every year.
My boyfriend and I just celebrated two years of dating with a 25.4-mile bike ride at Eklutna Lake. He is working hard to finish his flying courses at UAA so that he can become a Certified Flight Instructor for the school this fall. He studies more diligently than anyone I have ever met, and takes work more seriously than most of my family put together. I really respect him for that – I praise God that He put a man in my life who knows the importance of hard work and does not slack on what needs to be done. He thinks about everything, challenging me to see something I might otherwise miss.
I teach GAs at church. Tonight we had an enjoyable time of fellowship and “crafting.” They are so fun to be with – I love their enthusiasm and desire to share everything that’s going on in their lives, from soccer to bug bites and everything in between. My church in Alaska is quite different from the church I attended senior year at OBU. More traditional. But oh, it is homey.
I spend a lot of time crocheting. Maybe too much time. I have coffee with my Pastor’s wife every Tuesday night. My parents and I watch “Project Runway” on Thursdays. Every Sunday after church, Chris and I go to lunch with my parents and Fred and Betty. I like classical music – a lot. And the song “Without You” by Keith Urban. Keith Urban is one of my favorites. He has so many good love songs out.
I watched “Beauty and the Beast” last night in my room by myself. I only like movies when I know people fall in love at the end. It is a wonderful story, but knowing that I am preparing for a Royal wedding with my King is even better. Bride of Christ. The Lord dotes on my even more than Beast did for Belle. But His greatest desire is that I become like Him. That process takes time, and usually challenges. But, after all, as I read in “My Utmost for His Highest,” the Christian life is not deliverance from troubles, but deliverance IN troubles. God does not give us overcoming life: He gives us life as we overcome.
This is the life the Lord has given me right now. I may not understand all the ins and outs of it, but by golly, I will make it my goal to glorify Him in this life: in my job, my time at home, my GA leadership, my relationship with my boyfriend. All this, as I prepare to be His bride.
Life right now:
My name is Melissa. I am 23 years old, I live at home, and I drive my parents’ pickup truck. I have paid off half of my student loans and am on track to pay off my last chunk before I turn 24. I recently set financial goals and will have to revamp them soon because they are too easy to attain.
I am a salaried employee, a “Project Administrator/Change Manager” for the Mat-Su School District, making more money than a first-year teacher. I love my job. My biggest task this week is creating a music video to Kanye West’s song “Stronger,” which I rewrote to reflect the software implementation we are beginning on Monday. I really do enjoy the corporate world: having a desk, with a computer purchased and loaded just for me, with the authority to call some shots, and an overactive e-mail account. My boss and I have a similar sense of humor and other employees recognize that I can help them with what they need, even though I haven’t been in this position for a month yet.
I’m getting braces soon. There, I said it. Braces and oral surgery to fix my too-small upper palette and, hopefully, reduce the number of sinus infections I get every year.
My boyfriend and I just celebrated two years of dating with a 25.4-mile bike ride at Eklutna Lake. He is working hard to finish his flying courses at UAA so that he can become a Certified Flight Instructor for the school this fall. He studies more diligently than anyone I have ever met, and takes work more seriously than most of my family put together. I really respect him for that – I praise God that He put a man in my life who knows the importance of hard work and does not slack on what needs to be done. He thinks about everything, challenging me to see something I might otherwise miss.
I teach GAs at church. Tonight we had an enjoyable time of fellowship and “crafting.” They are so fun to be with – I love their enthusiasm and desire to share everything that’s going on in their lives, from soccer to bug bites and everything in between. My church in Alaska is quite different from the church I attended senior year at OBU. More traditional. But oh, it is homey.
I spend a lot of time crocheting. Maybe too much time. I have coffee with my Pastor’s wife every Tuesday night. My parents and I watch “Project Runway” on Thursdays. Every Sunday after church, Chris and I go to lunch with my parents and Fred and Betty. I like classical music – a lot. And the song “Without You” by Keith Urban. Keith Urban is one of my favorites. He has so many good love songs out.
I watched “Beauty and the Beast” last night in my room by myself. I only like movies when I know people fall in love at the end. It is a wonderful story, but knowing that I am preparing for a Royal wedding with my King is even better. Bride of Christ. The Lord dotes on my even more than Beast did for Belle. But His greatest desire is that I become like Him. That process takes time, and usually challenges. But, after all, as I read in “My Utmost for His Highest,” the Christian life is not deliverance from troubles, but deliverance IN troubles. God does not give us overcoming life: He gives us life as we overcome.
This is the life the Lord has given me right now. I may not understand all the ins and outs of it, but by golly, I will make it my goal to glorify Him in this life: in my job, my time at home, my GA leadership, my relationship with my boyfriend. All this, as I prepare to be His bride.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)