Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It rained all night and it will be raining all day today – and I’m thanking God for answered prayers. There’s not much to see from the front porch on a rainy day because the deer are vulnerable and they usually take refuge in the hiding place across from the front porch…and they stay there until the coast is clear. For some reason, I was feeling a little weak and vulnerable myself this morning, and even though I didn’t need to Confess it to the Living God who knows everything about me…I did. I poured out my Heart in the same way I used to pour it out to my Dad because He’s my Heavenly Father and I know He has my best interest in mind too. As I sat there on the very seat I shared with my Dad long ago, I began to cry and I talked to my King as if He was sitting right next to me, my weakness turned to Strength…my doubt turned to Confidence…my scattered thoughts became crystal Clear…my rocky road became Straight…my sadness became Joy, and every fear within me Vanished. He wiped away my tears the same as if He touched me with His own Hands…He walked me down Memory Lane to Highlight His Plans for my Journey… and THEN He Prepared me for this new rainy day. Isn’t that the way you deal with your downcast Heart too?

My relationship with my Dad was very special, and the older I get the more I see how it shaped me for my relationship with the Living God. I could talk to him about absolutely anything and he was always ready to listen without judgment. I could confess my doubts and fears and he was always ready to pour confidence into me with words of encouragement. When I did wrong, and I knew I had disappointed him, he didn’t lash out in anger with unkind words and he didn’t grab a belt. Instead, he made me think through what I’d done wrong and why I did it, and he helped me see what needed to be done to make it right. I couldn’t hide anything from my Dad, because he knew me so well and it was easy for him to spot when I wasn’t telling the truth or when I was attempting to twist the rules. My relationship with my Dad paved the way for the Relationship I would have with the Living God one day…one of Respect and Reverence and a healthy kind of fear, but one so sweet that all I ever want to do is to please Him.

My Dad taught me to slow down and look at the world around me, and we’d sit forever and contemplate life. If the weather permitted he would always be outside with a cup of coffee in hand because he loved the world around him and everything in it. He taught me to savor the moments (and a hot cup of coffee) and to laugh at life. He’d tell me about how life “used to be”, and he’d tell me about family members who were gone long before I arrived, and no matter how many times he repeated himself, I always wanted to hear what he had to say…because I loved him. It didn’t matter how bad things got…and they could be pretty bad back in those days… my Dad was always ready to comfort me by saying “Everything’s going to be alright…we’ve got this together”. My Dad taught me how to listen, and to love, and to hold onto hope. A priceless introduction to my Relationship with the Living God!

When my Dad lost his eyesight I’d cry when he didn’t know it, because I knew how much he loved his front-row seat in life and how he savored every bit of the world around him. Compassion drove me to use words to describe what he could no longer see, and I lifted the fog. I painted pictures in his mind, and I helped him visualize everything around him. He could “see” nature as I described it, and He could “see” his grandchildren. He could see a birthday cake, or a baseball game, or anything in his space because I could thread words together to help him along. I didn’t leave out a single detail just so that he could still savor those moments with me…and he did until just a few days before he died. My words put a smile on his face, and they helped him endure a journey of blindness with joy that I never want to know for myself. That experience, driven by my love for my Dad and my desire to help him “see” with his mind and his heart, developed my “ability” to paint pictures on behalf of the Living God for all the world to “see”. God has given me a Precious Gift of words and He used my blind Dad to develop those skills to be used by my Heavenly Father one day. He led me to my Purpose.

I started this day with a Heart that felt like the rain drenched fields, but I’m Strong and Ready now. The Living God reminded me of the Journey He’s been Preparing me for since before the foundations of the earth, and I know that He will be Working on me until He takes me Home. Our relationship is Precious and Priceless, and I see my Dad’s part in Preparing me for that. I may have been his eyes, but his heart trained mine in ways that defy words. Every piece of life, the good the bad, and the ugly can be used for Greatness if we pause to see the Hand of God through it all. So, I’ll be taking the “bad and the ugly” and threading them into Good throughout this new day, because my Heart has been Lifted by the Hand of a Mighty and Merciful God…my Father.

God has already fully Equipped you for your Purpose too. Are you fulfilling it?

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.