10 Weeks Away!

Hannah and Derick- I am not sure if you all grew up with a beloved children's bible called The Jesus Storybook Bible, but if not, it's still a great read at any age you are! 

One of my favorite pictures from that bible is below.

This picture came alive to me through my daughter Anna’s eyes when she was only five years old.  On our last day of an incredible trip to Kenya in 2008, we were on a mountain known as “Prayer Mountain” overlooking Lodwar and the surrounding villages.  She was looking through The Jesus Storybook Bible that she had heard me read countless times when she zeroed in on this picture.  She told me that she felt she was the little girl who was running toward God the Father in the picture.  Not only was this a defining moment in her own faith, but it became a specific marker for the direction I want my focus to be: to turn toward God rather than to be overwhelmed by anything that might close my heart to Him.

This picture has become embedded in my heart reminding me that I have another path I can choose.  Rather than responding out of my own pain or failure, I am continually learning to pray and ask God to bend my heart to help me turn toward God and toward others.  This picture captures the way I want to live, no matter what the circumstances are. 

May this also be the posture of your heart as you prepare for graduation, as you prepare for your wedding, as you settle into new rhythms, and as you build a life together. May you always know that you are held in God’s love and may your love for one another flow always from the Never-Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love of God.


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