ALIVE Again.

Any Matt Maher fans among us? If so, I am certainly happy for you.  As for me, his vibe has never quite been my cup of tea. Sorry ‘bout it. The other day though, when it was still that time of morning that is too early for speaking but playing music is helpful for embracing life, his song “Alive Again” came on my Spotify and a line of his lyrics hit me. Here is verse two with the lightbulb line bolded:

“Late have I loved you

You waited for me

I searched for you.

What took me so long?

I was looking outside.

As if love would ever want to hide.

I’m finding I was wrong.”

Think about it. When we love someone or something, do we hide it? I love soccer. I play it as much as I can, I talk about it, and having played NCAA soccer in college is my fun fact about myself on retreat introductions 99% of the time. ZERO HIDING INVOLVED. I love my best friend who lives in Denver, CO. I call her on the phone when I can and many of my life stories include her. Everyone who knows me has heard about Ali Nickel. But it’s not just me, we all share the things we love because they make us happy and they make us alive.

 So why does a part of me continuously feel the need to search for MORE? Is this some warped game of hide-and-seek? Really, would love hide? I explore new pleasures and they’re cool but never enough to fully satisfy me for long. N O T E V E N O N E.  

God, Love Himself, isn’t about hiding. Today I am going to try and just let Him love me. Giving up control. Yep, it’s as hard as it sounds. But the more I look and push and reach, I lose the whole point of love and miss what it could be and even what it should be. If it seems to be hiding, maybe I just need to broaden my perspective and trust a little. It isn’t even logical for love to hide so I’m giving this vulnerability and faith thing a chance.

We don’t hide our love. Where did we get that habit? God. #imageandlikeness 

Expect the God who loves me and you and cannot keep His mind off of us to share His love and let it be more than you anticipate. Let it be different. Let it be better.

“Never lose an opportunity

of seeing anything beautiful,

for beauty is God’s handwriting.”

 – Ralph Waldo Emerson

He loves you.

-Theresa