When He speaks

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"God is Love and God is Good. He can be nothing other than Love and Good."
-Priscilla Shirer

Coming back from fall break was a struggle for me. I had spent the last few days with my ailing grandmother, my last remaining grandparent. I mostly sat by her bedside, played music for her, and tried to tell her about my recent life by showing her pictures on my computer that she might like to look at. There were many times I had to fight to keep back the tears--seeing her like that in her state, and realizing that I was only beginning to be able to communicate with her...here, like this... it was not easy. 

But something else that caught me off guard as I came back to my temporary home was how un-homelike it felt. It's been not quite three months, so I suppose it's to be expected. But it hit me hard and it made me homesick...homesick not quite for a particular place, but a feeling of rest, warmth, and belonging. A dear friend told me not to be discouraged, but to battle the attacks of the enemy who was trying to get me to forget why I am here and the great things He is doing. So I prayed that in the midst of my heartache, I would hear His voice.

The next morning I worked through our ladies' Bible study material-- Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer. It has been a wonderful study that has been so encouraging and filled with wisdom. I looked up two verses that jumped right out at me:

"The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty One who will save, He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you by His love, He will exult over you with loud singing." Zeph. 3:17

"I believe I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage: Wait for the LORD!" Ps 27:13-14

The next day was this verse:

"The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of Your hands." Ps 138:8

And the next:

"You hem me in, behind and before, and lay Your hand upon me" Ps 139:5 

Yesterday I took a walk in my neighborhood. It is built on a hill so I am basically climbing up one hairpin turn after another. Usually I keep my eyes on the road so I don't step on anything unpleasant, but this time I began noticing flowers all along the way. Flowers under trees, flowers in the shrubs, flowers in the trees...and pink petals strewn along the roadside as if some lover had come to prepare the way. I remembered how a few days ago I had wished for flowers when I saw these gifts of sentiment some of my friends received from their significant others. Not that I wished so much for flowers themselves, but for the proximity that would make such sentiment possible. Seeing the flowers on my evening walk brought joy and peace to my heart as I realized the One Who actually did send them my way...and Who is actually with me.

God is ever so near. At Bible Study when I heard the words quoted at the top of this post, I felt my heart was overflowing. 

 <3

He is the same, yesterday, today, forever.