Reason #302
My house has been packed full of love and laughter this weekend. Good food, too. Well, maybe I'll just say lots of food. And so I sit covered in burlap threads and my heart is feeling full to the capacity yet again. My mom and I always talk about how good God is and the other day, as we were singing His praises, she said, "I just love Him." And that's how I feel tonight. A simple statement packed full of indescribable emotion and really, really deep meaning.
A couple of my girlfriends came over tonight to work on crafts. I love doing crafty things, but I hardly ever do them. Crafts are more fun when done with friends, so it was definitely an enjoyable night. Sometimes, I just really feel overwhelmed by the love God has poured out on me. Not only His love, but the love from others. Never, in my wildest dreams, would I have imagined having the sweet girlfriends I have right now. Really, I figured my friend making days were over since I was out of college. I never, ever knew He was going to drop a whole load of them in my lap 6 months ago. And so we cut out burlap material and pinned into styrofoam. We talked, and one of my favorite things about these sweet girls is that I can just be totally honest with them. I can share with them my thoughts and opinions and be completely raw and they are ever bit as transparent back. I learn so much from them and am blessed greatly because of their friendship.
So we talked about life's lessons tonight. Really, we bounced from one conversation to another but the overall theme had to do with things we've learned as we've traveled through the years of adulthood. And so the night ended on a really deep note. Something like this...
"You always thought you knew about _____________ until you actually experienced it."
A world of know-it-alls, we are. And the more experiences I've had in life, the more I realize I don't know very much. You just think you know, but you have no idea. If you want to find out what a person is really made of, hold their feet to fire. Throw them into deep water. Stick them in a dark, unfamiliar place. You'll find out quickly. And the thing is, sometimes you don't even know what you're made of until it happens to you, too. And so you find out as quickly as the others do. But there was this recurring theme as we talked about what all we've learned. And here's what I said...
So obviously, I've learned alot. But until I got to the point where I realized I didn't actually know what I thought I knew, I wasn't able to experience it. I wasn't able to understand it because I thought I had it down. But I didn't. And I learned a lot about myself, but more than that, I learned a lot about God. I knew of all those things listed above, but I didn't understand them because really, I had never experienced them. And so God allows things to happen in our life, certain experiences, and if you are wise and allow Him to use those experiences to draw you closer to Him, you'll actually learn a lot! Really, you'll probably find yourself, like me, totally and completely blown away by what you now know. And so, I've experienced those things and here's the cool thing of it all...
A couple of my girlfriends came over tonight to work on crafts. I love doing crafty things, but I hardly ever do them. Crafts are more fun when done with friends, so it was definitely an enjoyable night. Sometimes, I just really feel overwhelmed by the love God has poured out on me. Not only His love, but the love from others. Never, in my wildest dreams, would I have imagined having the sweet girlfriends I have right now. Really, I figured my friend making days were over since I was out of college. I never, ever knew He was going to drop a whole load of them in my lap 6 months ago. And so we cut out burlap material and pinned into styrofoam. We talked, and one of my favorite things about these sweet girls is that I can just be totally honest with them. I can share with them my thoughts and opinions and be completely raw and they are ever bit as transparent back. I learn so much from them and am blessed greatly because of their friendship.
So we talked about life's lessons tonight. Really, we bounced from one conversation to another but the overall theme had to do with things we've learned as we've traveled through the years of adulthood. And so the night ended on a really deep note. Something like this...
"You always thought you knew about _____________ until you actually experienced it."
A world of know-it-alls, we are. And the more experiences I've had in life, the more I realize I don't know very much. You just think you know, but you have no idea. If you want to find out what a person is really made of, hold their feet to fire. Throw them into deep water. Stick them in a dark, unfamiliar place. You'll find out quickly. And the thing is, sometimes you don't even know what you're made of until it happens to you, too. And so you find out as quickly as the others do. But there was this recurring theme as we talked about what all we've learned. And here's what I said...
I thought I knew what love was until I actually felt unloved.
I thought I knew what trust was until trust was actually broken.
I thought I knew what grieft was until I actually lost something.
I thought I knew what faith was until faith was actually stretched to its limits.
I thought I knew what pain was until I was actually hurting.
I thought I knew the power of prayer until I was actually challenged believe it.
I thought I knew what forgiveness was until I actually had to do it.
I thought I knew what healing was until I was actually wounded.
I thought I knew what joy and gratitude were until now...actually.
So obviously, I've learned alot. But until I got to the point where I realized I didn't actually know what I thought I knew, I wasn't able to experience it. I wasn't able to understand it because I thought I had it down. But I didn't. And I learned a lot about myself, but more than that, I learned a lot about God. I knew of all those things listed above, but I didn't understand them because really, I had never experienced them. And so God allows things to happen in our life, certain experiences, and if you are wise and allow Him to use those experiences to draw you closer to Him, you'll actually learn a lot! Really, you'll probably find yourself, like me, totally and completely blown away by what you now know. And so, I've experienced those things and here's the cool thing of it all...
I thought I knew what love was until Love, itself, captivated my deserpate heart.
I thought I knew what trust was until it was restored by His trustworthy hands.
I thought I knew what grieft was until I was comforted by the King of Kings.
I thought I knew what faith was until He led me through the wilderness.
I thought I knew what pain was until I was soothed by the Creator of the Universe.
I thought I knew the power of prayer until I saw it play out before my very eyes.
I thought I knew what forgiveness was until I was cleansed by His precious lifeblood.
I thought I knew what healing was until His nail-scarred hands pieced me back together.
And because of what I know, I now understand joy and gratitude.
And so I'm grateful for what I've experienced because I would never have come to understand and learn such lessons any other way. And the best thing of all, is that I now truly understand these things. I get it because I've felt it. And nothing beats the feeling of experiencing truth when you never really have. So lesson learned, and I'm thankful that I serve a great teacher who is ever so gracious to allow me these experiences in new ways, new forms, and as they actually should be!
#302 - Because He allows experiences so that we can understand and know the truth!
"May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." - Ephesians 3:19
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