Took me awhile to get this done. I said I would be back soon, but I guess not so soon! I have said I would not let anything come before God and it really is amazing how hard it is to make a conscious effort to put Him first at times when I have other things I want to accomplish! I now feel it is time to begin to disciple my readers on some things He has been doing in my heart.
Last time I posted, I asked for you to think about what it means to love God with all your heart, mind and soul. That is the first question that God stirred up in my heart many weeks ago. I first began to jot down all the answers I had.
Here are some of them:
- put Him first
- be kind to others
- obey Him
- die to myself
- hate evil
- seek His wisdom and use it
- humbleness
- think first (tame the tongue) not an easy thing for me!
After jotting things down from MY thoughts, over the next few days, I began to search His word to see what He had to say. I was very curious to see if I would come up with more or if the ones I had written down, were found in the Bible. Then an unexpected thing happened. He had me LIVE an example what it means when He says in His word that He LOVES ME!
My grandma is in a nursing home an hour away from my parents so I stopped by on my way home to have a quick visit and brighten her day. Little did I know, God would use her to brighten mine!
My four year old was with me and he made his entrance first with me following behind him. I saw her notice him, although she was not sure who he was, she just knew he was a cute little person! She smiled big! Then she looked up and saw MY face! She is in a wheelchair, so she can't come running to me, but if elderly people in wheelchairs could fly, she would have gone miles with the way her arms were flapping when she recognized me, her precious grand-daughter! The smile on her face and how here eyes welled up with tears, just at the sight of me is something I will NEVER forget! She said, "Oh Heather! I have missed you! Thank you for coming!" My grandma does not have much short term memory left so I never know how she is going to be when I visit. She is always excited to see me, but this time was extraordinary! We then held hands, chatted for awhile, gave our parting hugs and my son and I went on our way.
Later in the car, God began to speak to my heart. I had been searching how I can show Him I love Him with all MY heart, but He began to unravel what I need to do for Him to love ME! I began to recollect the time I had just spent with my dear, sweet grandma. Tears began to well my up in MY eyes! He spoke ever so gently and helped me realize, that as it was with my grandma, all I have to do for Him to love me, is to BE there! I did absolutely nothing but walk in a door where my grandma was. Her excitement to see me was so awesome! I felt like the most loved person in the world at that moment! I did not have to bring her a gift, bake her some cookies, or do ANYTHING for her to love me at that moment! All I had to do was BE there! I could have not stopped by to visit. It was my choice to take the time to go, that is all I did! That is exactly how it is with God and us! He just loves us because we are His! We don't have to give Him anything or do anything for Him to love us! He says to us, "Oh my child, I love you! I am so glad you have come to see me!" (Sometimes unfortunately, He must say to me, "I have missed you!" ) For one of the first times in my life, I realized what it was to truly understand a tiny bit, what it truly means to be loved by God!
Proverbs 2:10&11
When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you!
I am so thankful for the REALNESS of God! How he uses our daily lives, to teach us things about Him! After 93 years, he is still using my grandma for His glory! How glorious that is! Today, just BE! That is all you have to do for Him to love you! That is ALL! Thank Him for that! You are His!
Stay tuned for more of seeing what it means to love God!! For now, just continue to BE with Him!
