(For years, I’ve started my morning with a pattern. It begins with prayer – a simple “Please help me calm down and focus on what I’m preparing to read” – a prayer that’s essential for a creative girl prone to anxiety and the distraction of shiny objects. I then read a section of scripture – and reread it – and listen to it if possible. Having access to multiple translations allows me to read the same words in different ways, to find deeper meaning and a spark of new in the familiar. Notes are taken about the words read, notes that then become prayers again. And over time, the notes have become more – they’ve transformed into reminders, encouragements, words written as friend-to-friend. And because we are in this together, and I am for you – these words are now here for you too. Read them the way you’d read a letter, share them with someone else who needs to be reminded that God loves and He redeems and He has created us for community. Let the accompanying scripture inspire you to not only read but also listen to what God wants to say to you. I bet He has a love note waiting. He’s faithful that way. Let the prayer become your prayer. This is for you, love. xoxo)
(inspired by 1 Peter 1:1-13)
This is a love note to you, dear ones – you who feel scattered like leaves in a furious wind. This is a message to remind you that you are greatly loved and you are never forgotten. Though you hunger for home, remember that even this present moment is precious for you have been resurrected by Jesus, washed white in His crimson, and you are filled with a hope that has a heartbeat. The grace and peace that fills you now will overflow in the days to come. It will spill. It will flood. It will rage.
Think about the love of our God, Lord All-Mighty – that He would scoop you up and give you His name, that He would call you family. Think about the meaning of the word. Family. You are His for now and forever. And the inheritance He provides will never age or rust or spoil. It will never grow outdated. It will never lose its power or value. And to think, you’ve only seen a glimpse of His care for you. He does care – even in seasons where you feel like an exile, where you feel alone and unheard. Yet you feel His presence in the turbulent days where wind blows hard and it’s difficult to stand. And you know, dear ones. You know that you will look back and see that the wind was blowing away the dust that longs to settle on your soul, revealing priceless glow.
You may not see Jesus, but you love him, don’t you. And you may not see Jesus, but you know He adores you. Do you feel that? It’s joy rising, a joy that leaves us breathless. The prophets of old hungered for that joy, for the grace you now receive. They longed to see the words written on the page come to life in all their glory. And to think, they were writing about the life you now have. They were writing the story you now live, a story even angels wish they could share. So with that in mind, stand firm and move forward and keep your face lifted toward Christ. Ponder the power of grace, and hold to the hope with a heartbeat.
Read the scripture that inspired the love note here:
Faithful Lord, today would you be so kind as to let us see glimpses of Your eternity? Would You let us feel You just a little closer on the road we are walking, would You let us feel the beautiful raging rush of grace and peace? God All-Mighty, would you let us rest in Your arms today as we walk, and would you bring small joys into our day to keep us steady? Would you let us see traces of the glow from the trials – and would today be a day where the heartbeat is so strong inside our souls? Father, would you let our story move another human to lift their eyes to you?