Blog – 2-17-16 The Gift of Love
I started a new tradition a few weeks ago. After seeing the movie War Room, I was inspired to start a prayer journal. I don’t have a prayer closet per se like she did in the movie, but I have a special place in my office that I spend my quiet time every morning. I’ve started writing down in a journal the things God reveals to me in my morning devotions, whether it’s scripture, prayer requests, spiritual nuggets, or things on my heart. It has been powerful to put my thoughts down on paper because it helps make things more real, and it’s been a great way to keep track of my spiritual journey.
The journal I use is a simple gray book with one word on the outside…love. As the sun shone on that single word this morning, the gold lettering seemed to come to life. The simplicity of the word on the cover made me realize that that’s what this journal is really all about, love. Love sums up all the things that are written inside its pages…my prayers, my thoughts on scripture, the joys I’m feeling, the struggles I’m dealing with, concerns I have for friends and family, questions I have about faith. All of these musings from a searcher’s heart in the end show a longing for the deepest desire of each of our hearts…to be truly and completely loved. At the end of the day, this journal is a record of God’s love for me.
The Bible is ultimately a love story. Our Heavenly Father created us in perfection, loved us after we fell into sin, showed patience with us when we rebelled and turned away from Him, believed in us when we couldn’t believe in ourselves, and showed His love in the highest form by sacrificing His son so love could reach its fullness in each of our lives. The gift of salvation is truly the greatest love story ever told, and each of us can be a part of that story.
I guess it’s appropriate that we talk about love this week since we just celebrated Valentine’s Day, the national day of love. We all long for romantic love, that special feeling of being intimately known and cared for by another. We long to feel special and chosen. There’s nothing better than a great romance novel or love story where two people live happily ever after. Even Mahatma Gandhi said, “Where there is love there is life.” Love is what makes us feel alive and happy and well.
Some of you reading this may have had a disappointing Valentine’s Day because you aren’t in a relationship or maybe the one you are in is not where you would like it to be. Maybe the one you love isn’t as romantic as you are and the day just didn’t live up to its hype. Maybe you’ve been hurt one too many times and have given up on romantic love entirely and have resolved yourself to the fact that you will spend your life alone.
If you are feeling like you don’t measure up in the love department, remember one thing, my friend. You are part of the most beautiful love story ever written, one that continues to unfold each and every day of your life. Rest comfortably in the knowledge that you are loved beyond your ability to understand. Settle into the arms of your Heavenly Father and try to get a glimpse of how deep that love really goes. “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19.
Every morning when I pick up my journal to spend time with my Father, I will remind myself that each of our spiritual journeys is part of the greatest love story ever told!
Hugs and love,
~Jill
As a bonus this week, click on the link “Love Always Wins” to listen to the single from “Grace Finds Wings.”