"As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was going to happen." Christopher Robin
I can say that exact same thing about my relationship with Jesus. What an adventure I have been on! I was born on a farm in Iowa. I can’t say that I ever really dreamed big dreams or set lofty goals. I did determine to marry my high school sweet heart at the ripe old age of 18 and move away from my family and friends. I worked while my husband went through college and then I stayed home to be a mom and stayed even when there were no kids still at home. I have been to 13 foreign countries, most of the Caribbean, and Hawaii. I have been up in a hot air balloon, ridden in an Indy car doing 154 mph and hung from a zip line in Belize. But all of that is nothing compared to my journey with the Lord.
Truthfully I cannot remember the exact moment when I saw the Lord and asked Him into my heart and the adventure began. He has just always been with me for as long as I can remember. All through my childhood His hand was on my life. As I began the adventure of being a new wife and later a new mother, He was there to help and guide me. He was with me when I told children in a Russian summer camp that had once been used to indoctrinate them into Communism about Jesus. A young boy by the name of Nick came looking for me one day and asked me to pray with him to know Jesus because he knew of no such Jesus in Russia. The Lord was with me in El Salvador as I watched children digging through the garbage for food and in the Philippines as I walked through a cemetery that families there call home. I have celebrated the greatest joys in my life with the Lord by my side and went through the deepest valleys being carried in His arms.
I had the honor and privilege of speaking at a women’s retreat last weekend and the Lord gave me this passage to share.
Isaiah 43:18-19 “But forget all that—
it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
19 For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I believe that is the message the Lord desires to speak to all His sons and daughters. I believe that is the message God wants YOU to hear today. Forget the past, it is nothing compared to what He is going to do. The past the Lord was telling the children of Israel to forget was their deliverance out of the land of Egypt. There were actually times of blessings in the beginning and then a time of severe testing. As I look back over the entirety of my life, the times of blessing far out weigh the times of testing. Maybe you would say the opposite and you have been going through a lengthy time of testing. I believe the message is the same for both of us – forget it. Everywhere I have been, everything I have experienced is nothing compared to what God has in store for me and the same is true for you. I can hardly wrap my mind around what He is saying. Just when most people my age are thinking about retirement homes, horseshoes, and bingo – God comes to me with that twinkle in His eye and says, “You haven’t seen anything yet!” I know there is a song about heaven that says I can only imagine what heaven will be like but I’m not waiting until then. I can only imagine the adventure that God has for me and for you right here and right now as we follow after Him. I pray that you will open your heart and your mind to the word that God is speaking to all His children
"But forget all that---it is nothing compared to what I am going to do."
And then get ready for the greatest adventure of your life!
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