His Pursuit

I am sitting here on my sofa, reflecting on the events of the day. We had a very, very special mini retreat this morning with 18 girls (aged 12-17) from the children's home. It was a beautiful event covered in the fingerprints of a dozen friends of mine. Some brought flowers, some food, some gifts, some brought their smiles and their prayers. But most importantly, they were there, sacrificing a Saturday morning to roll up their sleeves and get dirty loving girls with messy lives.

The point of the morning was to fill these girls up with truth about their identity in God's eyes--a meek effort to counteract the lies of the world. An attempt to undo or reframe some of the pain of their young lives have already experienced. These are hard, tough girls whose stories are full of heartbreak and disappointment.

We ate, we laughed, we shared. Our time was facilitated by the fabulous Amy Beth who was so relevant and funny--while delivering a heartfelt message about the pits in our lives--and the fact that regardless of whether we slipped in, jumped in or were thrown kicking and screaming--we have a Rescuer.

She concluded her talk with a song that left nary a dry eye in the crowd. The words cut to the core of every woman's heart cry. Even tonight I am haunted by these lyrics and the wonder of His love.

Into the Light by Laura Woodley
You saw me broken. You saw me battered. You saw me filthy. You saw me shattered. You saw me wicked. You saw me lying. You saw me failing. You saw me trying. You saw me angry. You saw me jealous. You saw me prideful. You saw me selfish. You saw me wonder. You saw me lustful. You saw me striving. Worshiping idols.

You said: I want her. I love her. She's the one for me. I choose her. I know her. My blood has made her clean. She is my true love. Bring her to me. Put a ring on her finger. Clothe her in my righteousness. Shine my light all around her. Place a crown upon her head. Keep her tears in a bottle. See her name upon my hands.

When she says: I don’t deserve it. Tell her: I took the nails instead. I took the nails instead.

Now she's always by his side. She stays in his arms day and night. Out of the cage. Out of the shame. Into the light. Into the light.

She's finding her beauty. She's finding her grace. She's finding her whole heart. She's showing her face. In the light. In the light. She's pure in the light. She's home in the light.

I feel like I am still processing everything, since I had to almost immediately switch gears for K's recital this afternoon. (She did very well and thoroughly enjoyed herself.)But the overarching theme for me was awe at how we have been lovingly pursued by a God who sees past our scars and our stuff and just wants to lavish His love on us. Even though I get glimpses from time to time, it is still so unbelievable. Thankfully, it is not mine to understand, simply to accept. Thank you, Father.