An Intimate Picture

Yesterday I was sharing with someone a bit about something I'm struggling with right now. Sometimes it's really hard for me to remember how much I'm loved. I was telling this friend about how during my youth I was bullied enough to question myself for a long time afterward; do people really want to be my friend or are they just pretending? As I shared this, the pain of being 13 came back to me, man those are awful years even without being bullied. After I had explained these things to my friend she said that it seems like so many unfortunate things have happened to me and that she couldn't believe how far I've come (knowing a lot of my history)it's amazing how resilient I am."It's like there's just something in you, that keeps you going." But before she could continue I stopped her. When I let people know about all of the experiences I've had and the home I grew up in, they are often a little awed by where I am now. But it is good to remind them that there is only one reason why I was able to overcome; why I am on the road I am on today. And that reason is that God, out of His mercy and humbleness, not only reached out and changed my circumstances, but continually reached down to me with open arms-even though I had rejected Him so many times before-and embraced me with a love that knows no bounds. No, it is not because I just have this special power to pick myself up again, or because I read some self-help book, or because I went through years of therapy that I am where I am today. It is only because of a God whose love knows no bounds, and will stop at nothing until He brings His son or daughter home to Him. I remember right after I came to know Christ, reading the story of the prodigal son many times, each time my eyes dewy. It is such a beautiful picture: a father who has every right to be disappointed, to reject his son who has run away from him in search of something better, but who instead runs to meet him and celebrates that he has returned. And the son cannot believe it; he is expecting to be treated no better than a servant or slave, but instead his father treats him as an honored guest just so delighted that he has returned. That of course is the love of the Father, unquenchable and overwhelming for each of us. It is by Him that we take each breath.