I know it has been many, many months since I've blogged, but I have good reason and amazing news! May 18, 2015, God brought the Prince Charming He fashioned just for me into my life! Within the first 5 nights talking on the phone, David and I knew that this was IT. We didn't get to physically meet until June 14, 2015, when I flew down to Louisville to see him for the first time. He picked me up at the airport and proposed to me within 40 minutes. We were married just 19 days later at the end of a private pier overlooking Lake Michigan. I married the love of my life right in my Jesus Spot where I had spent years pouring my heart and prayers out. God is beyond faithful! Now, some may think that is a fast courtship, but when you KNOW God is in it and you've waited over 30 years, it's far from fast. In just 3 short days we will be celebrating our one year anniversary on July 3, 2016. Wow, how a year flies! If I filled you in on all of the other miraculous things Jesus has done over this last year, I would be writing for days and you would be reading for days. Instead, let's just agree that the Lord of All is beyond incredible and move on. :)
Well, today was an interesting one, to say the least. I spent the better half of 3 hours this morning searching for one of my favorite pairs of earrings. They were given to me a few years ago by a friend who didn't want them anymore, so I suppose you could say they didn't have much monetary significance. However, I cherished them and wore them often. In fact, I wore them all day yesterday until I, at some point, took them off and put them who knows where...which leads me back to our story. Let me tell you, racking my brain for 3 hours, searching in literally every nook and cranny of my home, and retracing my steps over the last 32 hours can give quite a headache and flurry of frustration. My quest hit rock bottom as I searched to the bottom of the kitchen garbage where the rotten pineapple was just waiting for me. Yuck. It was at that sticky point that the Lord spoke clearly to me and led me away to journal about the situation.
Truly, for about 2/3 of my search, it was becoming apparent that God was leading me to draw a parallel between my hot pursuit of this mystery jewelry and my relationship with Jesus. It became perfectly clear how worthless it was to pour all of my energy and mental focus into such a frivolous thing. As I journaled, I began pondering whether I was pursuing that trinket more than the Lover of my soul. Trust me - it was quite a gut check. I asked myself, "Will you stop at nothing to discover the deepest parts of your Savior's heart? Do you relentlessly pursue His presence above all else?"
Perhaps God allowed me to misplace those earrings today to magnify the quality of my pursuit of Him. He may have even made them vanish just to make me realize how quick I am to drop everything in my day to search for something of such little significance. It quickly becomes far too easy to be busy and focused on other things instead of running after Jesus at the pace He deserves. Right there, I was reminded again what a flawed human I am. Still, He loves me. I fail Him in a thousand ways I am aware of, and a million more I don't even realize. And yet, He adores me.
I could beat myself up for days over the way I chased after a worthless trinket more than I pursued my God the first hours of this day, but all He asks is that I stop, breathe, turn, and run to Him. His grace is forever abounding and His mercies are new every morning. That tells me that His perfect mercy has already covered my shortcomings of this very morning.
Through this story, I am reminded of my humanity, but I am also reminded that in Christ there is no condemnation. The more I punish myself, the less able I am to come and be loved and nourished by the true Source of joy, love, and satisfaction.
I thank Jesus for loving me through my humanity; for loving me because of my humanity. I thank Him for showing me my endless flaws; without them, I could easily forget that I am desperately in need of my Savior. I thank Him for showing me that He is more than enough.
My heart is now at peace, knowing that even if I never find those favorite earrings again, I have already won. I have Him - all day, everyday. I don't have to work my brain into a pretzel, trying to recall where I left Him or how I could have misplaced my most precious Gift. Best of all, Jesus doesn't require me to scavenge through rotten banana, orange, and pineapple skins to find Him (though He is more than worth that). I am thankful, though, that once in a while He allows me to misplace something precious in my world to remind me how much more priceless His constant companionship is to me. His love for me is far more valuable than silver or gold. His Presence is infinitely more extravagant than the most beautiful diamond He has created. I pray Jesus continues to teach me how to pursue Him more than anything else in my life...because I know that having Him, I have it all.
In His Awesome Love,
Katie Marie
