Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. The morning is cool and foggy, but the warmth of the Living God is everywhere…every day. When I looked out across the fields at sunrise, all I could focus on were the layers I saw – layers of fog and layers of clouds. The view was magnificent! Quickly capturing what I see with my eyes is important because, as the sun heats up, all the layers dissipate fast. The more I thought about those layers I could see with my eyes, the more I thought about the layers of my Life – layers of sin and layers of rebellion, and how the Hand of God peeled each layer away by His warmth too. He “saved a wretch like me” a long time ago now, but the peeling back of layers never ends. The more I seek Him, the more He shows me what He sees below the layers and how Important it is to peel them back. Sometimes He is slow and gentle when He peels back a layer of what needs to be Revealed, and sometimes He rips it off like a Band-Aid. Either way, I’m always Grateful to be one step Closer to Him in the Process. What a Blessing it is to spend time in the Presence of the Most High God any time I want to, and to Hear what He has to say to His people day after day. But If the Most High God had not peeled back the layers to reveal what I needed to Repent of, I never would have become a Usable Vessel for Him. No matter the condition of my Heart, no matter what kind of mood I’m in (or not), no matter my trials, no matter how many times I fall, my God is always Ready and waiting for me any time I take the time to meet with Him. What a friend I have in Jesus!

God doesn’t scrutinize the words I use when I Speak to Him…they really don’t matter much because He sees what’s within my Heart without speaking a word and He loves me anyway.

God doesn’t whine about how much time I give Him, or remind me of when I disappoint Him if I’m busy and I don’t take the time for Him that I should. He’s the Bright Morning Star, and He’s always there 24/7, ready to open His arms to this child of His. He Loves me anyway.

God is always ready to Guide me in the Right Direction when I get off track, just like a Shepherd guides his sheep. His patience with me has no limits, and He doesn’t keep reminding me that I’ve gone down the wrong path in Life over and over again after He’s peeled back the layers. He takes me by the Hand like the Loving Shepherd He is, and He sets me off in the Right Direction all over again. He loves me anyway.

God is all I ever need, the One who has my Heart, the One who “loves me anyway”, the One who will never leave me nor forsake me…BUT THERE IS A CATCH. I’m Commanded to be a Reflection of Him, and I’m Commanded to extend the same things to other people that He has extended to me! I’m supposed to be ready to listen, to Love, to Forgive, and to Guide others into peeling back their layers with Unconditional Compassion too…no matter how “ugly” it is underneath all those layers! I’m supposed to love them anyway. If not for the example that God sets before me, and my desire to please Him because of it, none of this would ever be possible.

I’m filled with an Attitude of Gratitude this morning for all that He is and all that He does for me. Isn’t it just like my Savior to use a little fog and layered clouds to Speak to my Heart? If He can use me, He can use you! He loves you anyway – right where you are and just as you are. All you need to do is Trust in Him and be willing to be “peeled” into “perfection”.

I’m overwhelmed today just as much as I was decades ago when I First met Jesus, that the God of all Creation “sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood,” and I am Forever Grateful for the Peeling Process that revealed my “ugly” nature so that He could Refine me like gold.

I’ll be Working hard every day to be the very best Reflection of Him that I can be, in all that I do and all that I am, until He calls me Home. He loves me anyway.

How about you?