As I've had time to process the events of Sunday, which you can read about here, God has used the situation to impress a few truths on my heart and I wanted to share them with you today....
When I was growing up, and until recently actually, I thought God was an all or nothing God. I thought that he expected perfection from me and when I failed, he was beyond disappointed with me and looked at me with disgust. I related to him in that way. I felt that I was constantly letting him down and I would never be good enough for him to love me. Thankfully, I've learned a few things about God, his character, and his grace. But, today, I had a bit of a realization... When I realized that Emerson was going under the water Sunday afternoon, and I was far enough away that I couldn't reach her, I was DESPERATE. There wasn't much of a limit to what I would have done to get her out of that water. There was an instant rush of instinct that shot through me that made me almost crazy with the need to rescue her. Seeing her little hands reached up into the air grabbing for anything to help her, trying to keep her head up so she could breathe was honestly the most heartbreaking thing I've ever experienced. Knowing that she was in distress, knowing that she needed me in that instant, was overwhelming. It took my breath away. When I was laying in bed with her last night she told me, "Mommy, I just kept trying to push myself up so I could see you". In her fear, she was trying to keep her eyes on me. She was trying desperately to know that I saw her, that I was coming for her. How I felt yesterday is a minor fraction about how God feels about us. I wasn't standing on the beach thinking Oh Emerson, if you would have just made the right choice and stayed closer to shore, or, Emerson, you disobeyed my words, shame on you, fix your problem. NO WAY! I was thinking... I need to get to my child! I have to save my baby! That's what God thinks about us. God is desperate for us. He's desperate to reach us! He's desperate to save us! In our sin, we are exactly like Emerson was yesterday- head going under, holding our breathe, reaching up hoping someone will come for us. She didn't know she was in danger until it was too late. We run headlong into our sin because it looks fun or appealing. Emmy just wanted to play with the big kids, she didn't realize the danger she was walking herself into. And we get out there too deep, we get stuck and suddenly we're trying to push ourselves up just to see help. Just to try and keep our heads above water long enough, in hopes that someone will save us. Luke 19:10 says- For the Son of Man came to SEEK and to SAVE that which was lost. It doesn't say that Jesus came to stand by and tell us how bad we are because of our sin and shame us for our bad choices, and that we have to fix our problem. Jesus came to SEEK us out. He came to SAVE us. He's desperately loving you, he's coming for you, to pull you up out of the water. He's rushing for you to save you from going under! I wish you could feel my heart in this, the heart of a mother who was almost looking death in the face. The heart of a mother who was mere seconds from losing her child. The heart of a person who got a tiny tiny tiny glimpse at the heart of God- his desperation for us. His jealousy for our hearts. God loves you. God loves you. God loves you. And not only does he love you- he's coming to you. He's reaching out to you. He wants to pull you into the safety of his arms, out of the danger of death. Will you let him do that today? I'm praying that if you don't know how deeply God loves you, that today you will experience even a tiny fraction of the fullness and protection of his love. Because it will blow you away. If I can help you with this in any way, please send me a message or email me. I would love to talk more with you about how much God loves you, how he wants to rescue you. Find a friend, contact a pastor, someone you trust that can help you with this. Because this will change your life! Happy Tuesday!
4 Comments
Mom
8/25/2014 11:00:25 pm
As you were and still are my jewel, you understand how precious life is. A lesson that jars you from mere acceptances of facts to an in your face reality of how life could have changed instantly. I praise God we did not have to experience it. But you are forever changed by it. I love your expression of faith and your knowledge that God loves us unconditionally. I am proud of your ability to express your feelings and love for our Savior.
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Love both the post and your mom's comment about it. My youngest daughter was born via emergency c-section with knots in her cord and the cord around her neck. I can't know exactly how you feel, but I often times look back on that day with fear over what could have been and extreme thanksgiving over what is. Praising God today that your daughter is safe and well and praying that His peace becomes yours.
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Courtney
8/26/2014 10:00:51 pm
Thank you for this post! I think our children are the greatest reminder of God's love for us. How we feel about them is how He feels about us and that is incredibly comforting. You articulated this beautifully in this post!
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melissa cole
4/27/2020 03:13:55 am
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HEY, I'M JESSICA!
Christian. Wife. Mommy. Daughter. Pastor. Friend. Saved.Redeemed. Beloved.
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