Greetings from Austin Street

Happy Wednesday!  All is well at 811. I have felt peaceful all day long. Nothing new to report, but for the first time in what seems like a long time I do not feel torn apart.  I have been praying for God to free my soul from its sadness.  O how I love Jesus.  God is so very good and love wins!

“I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.”

Hosea 2: 19

My friends, I have a confession to make. I have cried everyday for over two months. My soul has been torn apart over the circumstances of grief and loss and being overwhelmed with so many things. I have stayed in God’s sacred Word and been in prayer each day, night and throughout the day trying to find peace and comfort. But today the air around me was different and my soul was happy and my heart seemed lighter. I went from task to task with relative ease without dwelling on the serious issues going on in my daily life. Nothing has changed. No miraculous healing or restorations, no windfall of money, just peace.

Here is what I believe has made the difference. Somewhere in this journey I have changed and God has not. God’s love for us is unchangeable. It is the strongest love we will ever experience. The bond between husband and wife and parent and child are examples of powerful bonds of love. Those relationships are intimately personal and precious and holy. These relationships however are subject to change. God’s love for us remains the same. We are so precious to God and we are engraved on the palms of both of His hands. God forgetting us is not possible. God has continual compassion for each of us.

I think we come to know God through the practical experiences of life, reading God’s Word, praying, serving, being with folks who love God and spending time in worship. The daily walk with God allows us to experience God’s love that goes beyond just knowledge.  God wants us to experience this extravagant love in full measure.  Maybe the holes in my soul were so gaping that the only way to fill them was for God to fill them with His Presence in the form of peace. Thanks for listening.

Take joy in the journey remembering that hope does not disappoint. Wear comfortable shoes, pray with a heart filled with gratitude, cast our cares upon the LORD and get some sleep. God is up all night anyway so there is no reason for all of us to be awake.  Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene