“It is an incredible feeling when we finally fall into the arms of our loving Father and give our lives to Him. He embraces us so completely and is so glad we are home.”
A young, eager and ‘hungry for God’ client of mine recently told me that she has a quote of mine on her Facebook page. As she began to rejoin her journey of building a personal relationship with God, we had been discussing what it means to let God’s love into our hearts. It was during an email exchange that I shared the above lines with her. This morning, she reminded me of the words I had shared with her many weeks ago. To be honest with you, I was very surprised that these words had come from me. Then I smiled, knowing that they didn’t come from me at all. (I’m not that wise!) It was God using me to touch her heart.
I love how God uses me and flows through me to reach others. I really believe that I am one of the luckiest women alive! I get to work with people each and every day, hearing their hearts and opening up my heart so that God can flow through me and into their lives. As I read these words this morning, I was moved and inspired all over again.
You see (I must admit) as a counselor, I sometimes feel the weight of my work on my heart. It isn’t always easy to hear the hurts and pains of people hour after hour, day after day. It can be a struggle for me to know what words are important to for me to hear or what I need to say to each client. Some days I feel as if I cannot carry anymore. I sometimes feel as if I could crush under the burden of one more story of abuse or neglect. One more tail of injustice or evil feels as if it could destroy my very soul. Last night was the end of a series of days such as these, where the burdens of the hurting people I serve were weighing heavily on my heart.
I know in my humanness, I cannot handle this calling on my own. I really have nothing to offer all the wonderful people I meet day after day, except the willingness to open my heart to God and strive to serve Him faithfully.
Before sleep found me last night, I prayed that God would lift the weight from my heart and provide me with renewed energy to serve the hurting. I prayed that He would bring forth His strength and fill me so that I could serve those who need Him today. I asked that He carry me – lifting me and filling me with His love. This morning, my client shared with me that she has the above quote on her Facebook page. I believe this morning’s email from her was the answer to my prayers of last night.
I believe God used my words – His words – once again today. My client doesn’t know this, but God just flowed through her and touched the heart of her therapist this morning. When we are willing to open our hearts to be filled with God’s love, it cannot help but bubble up within us and spill out to others. He did that through me a few months ago with these words originally sent to her. This morning, He did it again – the same words, flowing through her to touch my heart.
My prayer today is for all of us.
Lord, Thank you for your love. Please help us to accept the freedom and joy that can only come when we open our hearts to you. May this day prove to be a day when your love fills us, overflows within us, and spills out into the world. It is only with you that we can serve each other with the love that you want us to experience and share. In our precious Jesus’ name we pray. Amen