Heard By God

Today, I sit in a place of gratefulness.

A place of complete and utter contentment.

In the middle of the craziness,

In the middle of the busyness,

In the middle of all the new,

I feel so very grateful,

So very known,

So very remembered.

I was reading the story of Hannah,

A woman who longed for a son.

A woman who sat,

Year after year,

And prayed

For a child.

And Hannah, in the middle of her complete and utter despair,

Continued to cry out to the Lord,

Continued to ask for her greatest hearts desire,

Continued to "pour out her soul to The Lord". ( 1st Samuel 1:15).

And the Bible tells us that in the middle of the suffering,

In the middle of the despair,

"The Lord remembered her".

And she was given a son.

Samuel.

And I can only imagine that moment for Hannah.

The moment when she looked down at the baby in her arms,

And saw the culmination of all her prayers,

Of all her tears,

Of all her waiting.

She saw clear and tangible evidence,

That the Lord loved her,

And heard her,

And remembered her.

And today, I feel that same way.

When I first moved, it was hard.

I left my home,

My people,

My comfort,

For something new.

Any many tears,

And moments of emotional eating,

Were involved,

And my constant prayer,

My constant crying out to the Lord was a simple, but large prayer-

"Make this place a home to me."

And this morning,

I saw clear and tangible evidence,

That my prayers,

My crying out,

Was heard.

And they seem small,

But as I look back on them now,

They seem so very personal to me.

When I was at the gym,

I saw two people I knew.

 I got recognized by a barista at Starbucks.

 I have friends that I feel comfortable enough with to invite myself over to their house to dinner tonight.

And as I sit here today,

I realized,

This place,

Is not so new anymore.

This place,

is not so unknown.

This place,

is slowly becoming a home.

And while all of these instances may seem small,

They make me feel so loved,

So heard,

So very remembered,

By the same Lord that heard Hannah's prayers,

And hears yours.

"And the Lord remembered her"

The posts on this site are my own personal opinions. They are not read or approved by Southside Ministries, Inc. prior to posting and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Southside Ministries, Inc.

Little Hints of Heaven

I don't know a lot of things.

And as I get older, it becomes clearer and clearer that I know less and less then I thought I did.

I'm in no way an expert,

In no way a theologian,

In no way a person that should have any sort of authority over anything in the Bible.

But tonight,

I was thinking about heaven.

What will it be like?

What does God say about it?

Why is it that people talk about this place they've never been with such assuredness,

Such hope,

When really, we have no idea?

The bible doesn't say that much about it,

Doesn't give many details.

But, I think part of the mystique of heaven is that we really have no idea.

That we have faith in knowing that whatever is before us,

Is better then what we left behind.

But I also think that God knows that we are impatient people,

Nosy,

And anxious,

To see what's ahead.

And tonight, I had a moment.

It was brief,

And simple,

And to the outside world, would have appeared as nothing quite special.

But tonight, I think I got my own personal taste of what heaven will be like.

I think at times,

We get hints.

Little glimpses of heaven here on Earth.

A piece of perfect.

A moment of stillness.

A brief and utter confidence that you are exactly where you are supposed to be.

And I don't think these glimpses,

Theses pieces.

These moments,

Look the same to everyone.

Honestly, I think it would be boring if they did.

And I believe that the God that loves me abundantly,

Is also one of abundant creativity,

And abundant surprises,

Wouldn't give me a hint of His creative love,

With anything less then something innately personal to me.

And I find such joy in that.

And excitement,

To look for those little glimpses of heaven,

The pieces,

The moments where I so personally feel God's love,

That it can't be anything but.

The glimpses,

The pieces,

The moments,

That I know are meant just for me.

The glimpses,

The pieces,

The moments,

Where everything just feels,

Right,

Perfect,

Heavenly.

And that gives me hope.

Hope not just for the future,

And the mystical, perfect place that lies ahead.

But hope for the right now,

Hope for my current season,

Hope for my current struggles,

Hope for whatever I happen to be walking through,

Hope knowing that I serve a God that loves me enough,

To send me little hints of heaven.