| “For a long time I believed I was searching for God and thought I had found him, this God who is order and control, distant and passive. I knew he so loved the world, but I didn’t know his love for me. As I gazed off into the foggy distance, hoping for a glimpse of the outline of his presence, I missed the One who stood beside me, casting his shadow over me as he showered me with his love. While I thought I was searching for him, he graciously, miraculously, and intentionally found me.” ~ Emily P. Freeman (Grace for the Good Girl) |
This quote from Grace for the Good Girl has been on my mind continually for the past few days. Particularly the part about gazing in the foggy distance, hoping for a glimpse of the outline of His presence.
Do I do that?
I wonder …
My prayer most days is to see Him in my ordinary. When I’m running kids to and from school, making yet another meal in the kitchen, packing lunches, folding laundry, sweeping floors … I pray to see Him. Just a glimpse. I squint and strain to try to see His hand at work in my life and in the lives of those around me.
But what if, in all the squinting and trying, I miss Him?
What if I miss the One who stands right beside me? The One who is casting His shadow over me as He showers me with His love?
Do I truly understand God’s love for me? Have I received it? Have I allowed it to totally transform my life? Do I really understand that nothing can separate me from His love?
| For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels,nor principalities,nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~ Romans 3:38-39 (NASB) |
I’m only a few pages in, but Grace for the Good Girl: Letting Go of the Try-Hard Life proves to be an invaluable read for those of us who hide the most vulnerable parts of ourselves behind a mask of ‘goodness.’
| “You’re strong. You’re responsible. You’re good. But …
… as day fades to dusk, you begin to feel the familiar fog of anxiety, the weight and pressure of holding it together and of longing left unmet. Good girls sometimes feel that the Christian life means doing hard work with a sweet disposition. We tend to focus only on the things we can handle, our disciplined lives, and our unshakable good moods. But what would happen if we let grace pour out boundless acceptance into our worn-out hearts and undo us? If we dared to talk about he ways we hide, our longing to be known, and the fear in the knowing? In Grace for the Good Girl, Emily Freeman invites you to release your tight hold on that familiar, try-hard life and lean your weight heavy into the love of Jesus. With an open hand, a whimsical style, and a heart bent brave toward adventure, Emily encourages you to move from your own impossible expectations toward the God who has graciously, miraculously, and lovingly found you.” (taken from Grace for the Good Girl) |
