Every Good Gift Comes From Above
God has been telling me for years to let Him love me.
At first it made no sense and I’ve had to grow more and more in this area as time has gone by.
I will be honest.
It has been hard.
I’ve always felt unlovable, in the way, and like I was a burden if I wasn’t always the one serving. It has become a daily challenge to realize that regardless of what I do He still loves me.
While I’m sick, He loves me.
While I’m resting, He loves me.
While I’m messing up, He loves me.
I feel like He has been trying to engrain this truth into the depths of my heart over the last year so that I will believe it fully and without reserve. He wants me to realize who He is so that I can rest more and more freely into His loving arms.
On the way to Florida, one of the things I was asking God for was a true vacation with no headaches. I wanted to feel truly refreshed and rested for the seven days we were there. I had told Him He had 51 other weeks in the year to teach me things, I just wanted these few days to learn nothing but His love.
He graciously answered that prayer and I am forever grateful.
Besides answered prayer, I have always found it funny that one of my love languages with God is when I want or need to purchase something and He provides a way for me to do so either through unexpected funds, permission to spend my money on it, or great deals. This is probably why His provision of the Blue Bayou we were staying at was so cool to me. It was a combination of unexpected funds, permission and deals!
God answered so many prayers throughout the entire trip.
One of my favorite gifts was the beach. I can’t even begin to explain how wonderful, refreshing, and soothing it was to be so close to the water. Being as it was such a short walk, I went three times a day.
My morning walk/jog,
An afternoon sunbathing, and
The evening sunset watch.
It was like a dream come true!
Usually when I went to the beach in the afternoon I would take a book and chair fully expecting to enjoy reading in the sunshine… I rarely used them. I found that I solely enjoyed lying on a beach towel in the sunshine listening to the waves. It was extremely relaxing!
Of course one of my desired souvenirs was a sun tan. Who can go to the beach and not want one! The one afternoon that it was kind of chilly I had mid-calf leggings on and even though I was faithfully rotisserie turning, I must have fallen asleep because I had a line around the back of my calf where I had burnt myself.
Oops.
Instead of it being a beauty thing, it became something I could laugh about.
Early on I had given God a list of things I wanted to see before my vacation ended. One of them was a close up seagull, a sunset on the water, and some other things I can’t remember. It was only a day or two before I had seen all the things on my list. As I was having my morning time with God, He asked what else I wanted to see. I said I didn’t know. A Flamingo popped in my head and my response was,
Do they even have those around here?
I wasn’t sure, but was pretty sure they didn’t.
As my mom and I drove to a coffee shop later that day there was the cutest mailbox… in the shape and size of a flamingo. I just started laughing and had to explain to my mom why. God sure does have a sense of humor!
One of the coolest souvenirs I got was the earrings. I was asking God what kind would remind me of His love.
Years ago I saw a pair of earrings with flowers and after about a year of debate on whether I should spend money on them or not… yes it took me a year of looking at them every time I was in the area – I felt God gave me permission to get them, telling me to let them be a token of His love, a reminder of our relationship.
After some time in devotions I thought of palm trees. It would remind me of this vacation, which was a total gift from God, and when people talk of Florida they often use palm trees so it would become a subtle reminder of His love. Later that day I found a gold plaited pair with colored jewels. They are beautiful and perfect! I’ve worn them many times already since coming back.
The most important souvenir I wanted to take home was a sweatshirt that said Anna Maria on it. We probably went to every gift shop in the island looking for one I liked. Finally one really stood out. Peachy pink with large sea colored blue letters of AMI, with Anna Maria Island directly under it. The back had a colored drawing of the beach with sunshine and some palm trees. Surrounding it, it stated, Salt Water and Sunshine. It seemed to be exactly what I was looking for and the price was half what I was expecting to pay which was an added bonus.
I’ve come to acknowledge that my finances are God’s and having the desire to be faithful with what He has entrusted to me, I usually ask God if I should buy something before I do. On this trip His response was the same as before I left, I’ll take care of you. There were only two exceptions and thankfully it wasn’t much of a sacrifice because I agreed with His reason for why.
The last big thing I bought before leaving the island was a windbreaker jacket that was so cute. I’ve wanted to get one for awhile since where I live is very windy and usually makes it feel so much colder than it really is. I knew I’d use it a lot and because it would remind me of this trip I was willing to spend a little more for it than a regular windbreaker. As the weather warms up a bit I am excited to wear it on my runs!
Before I left on this trip I got anointed for my allergies, carpal tunnel, and plantar fasciitis. I had felt that God wanted me to work at my outdoor job, run, and do ASL, but it was challenging or impossible with those physical conditions. Florida was apparently high for allergens, yet I was able to be outside a lot and felt fine! I was also able to walk miles and throw in some jogging intervals along the beach! That was like a dream come true! Praise God! I was so grateful!
The day we were to leave I went for a jog on the beach one last time. As the waves crashed against the shore I listened to a song that I felt God had put on my heart. It felt like a closure of my vacation that was very sweet.
All in all, this vacation had me in tears several times just feeling the love of God and being so grateful to Him.
Because Winter Storm Fern decided to go across the U.S. at the time we were supposed to head home, my mom and I decided to wait in South Carolina as we waited it out. While we were there, I learned so much which I will share in the next post.
The last thing I bought was a keychain wristband from a Christian coffee shop in North Carolina. It was a piece of leather engraved with the words
“how much more does he love you”
Though I would normally not spend $15 for such a small item that I didn’t need, I felt like it wrapped up what this vacation trip was all about –
To show me that God loves me more than I could ever imagine!
My hope in sharing how I feel loved by God will encourage you to see that He can speak your love language as well and make your relationship with Him personal and special. He knows us better than we know ourselves and if we let Him, He knows how to be there for us in just the right ways at just the right time.
One of my favorite verses that talk about God’s love is Zephaniah 3:17.
The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. – Zephaniah 3:17
As I remind myself that I am a child of God, I realize so often that I don’t see myself nearly as special as God sees me. I pray that as we all draw closer to Christ we will grasp the truth and realization of His love for us.
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by fiath; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
May be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
And to know the love of Chirst, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.
-Ephesians 3:17-19
Until next time,
Happy Running!
Be Still and Run 