God's Vast Love

 It is Monday, the first day of the first full week of school.  The start of a new school year always brings mixed emotions for parents and children alike.  It can be scary, exciting, confusing and happy and the list could go on; but this year started different for us.  All three of my children are now in school and all three of them hit a big school milestone on the same day.  My oldest went off to high school for the first time, my oldest daughter started middle school and my youngest daughter, the last one, the baby started kindergarten!!  Typing that sentence just stopped my breathing once more.  :O

                        Normally I would push back the tears and sweep the feelings underneath the rug that sometimes covers my heart in order to be “strong” or “tough enough.” This time though, I couldn’t fight it.  I was not prepared for the deep, intense, painful feelings that presented themselves, but God was.  My heart ached so deeply and it felt as if it were being torn in three different directions.  It seemed the heart ache consumed my whole body.   I cried and cried some more and then I finally began to laugh at myself because if I was this much of a wreck about school then what am I going to do when they leave home to make their own lives?!  Still, there was an aching emptiness that consumed me.  So instead of sweeping the aching emptiness under the rug, I began to talk with God about what I was feeling.   Joyce Meyer once said, “You’ve got to feel it so He can heal it.”

 The Lord reminded me that the intense emotions that I was feeling for my kids were only a drop in the bucket compared to how much love He has for them, or me, or anyone who wants a relationship with Jesus.  Oh, what JOY this brings to my heart and soul!!  In Ephesians 3:18 it says, “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.”  This is my prayer for you who read this: that you would come to know His majestic, vast love and come to believe that His love was given, is given and will always be given for you.  The Lord really means you, His LOVE is for you, and it is for all.  We cannot fully love others until we receive His vast love for ourselves.  I encourage you to go on a “love hunt” with me, a love hunt through His word.  The challenge is to look up one verse per day which pertains to love and after meditating on it, post it here to the blog.  Please look at other postings and be sure that your verse is not one someone already posted so that after a few weeks or so we can review what we have learned about love through the blog posts, but most importantly through His word.  Happy Hunting!!  J

 

                                                                                                            S.M.P*