“And His banner over me was love.”
~ Song of Solomon 2:4

Love has been on my mind this week. I know many people that celebrate Valentine’s Day and also many people that don’t. Either way, I believe we can (and should!) celebrate God’s love everyday. Time and life experience have taught me that only God can truly heal and restore a broken heart. Especially in these uncertain times of trials / temptations / testing, I am practicing hitting the “pause” button on life. I am learning to be still and let my heart absorb and enjoy the fullness of His love…

The deepest blessing I know, is the full embrace of God’s eternal love. Even as a young child, or a rebellious teen, or a dying adult; I have always know that “His banner over me, was love.” Even in the worst times, I never doubted His love… There are times I have questioned Him, been angry at Him, tried to turn my back on Him – but still, I always knew He loved me! This has always been a constant, even in the middle of earth shaking storms. The firm foundation of the Father’s love can never be shaken.

“Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”
~ 1 Corinthians 13:8

I know the reason it has always been easy / natural / automatic for me to accept His love, is because my feet stand firmly on the foundation built by my earthly father – my Daddy who has always loved, protected and cared for me. I know this is a blessing beyond what I can even comprehend, and I am forever grateful! My father’s protective love, my mother’s nurturing love, my husband’s enduring love, my daughter’s compassionate love; love has surrounded / lifted / carried me through this weary life. Love is beautiful thing and is a true reflection of Christ to others. The love of my family, friends, even the love of strangers who have prayed for me – have blessed my life in ways I won’t even fully understand until heaven. How thankful I am for the deep deep love of Jesus; the love that sustains me! ❤

However, on the flip side, we all know human love is flawed! My love is imperfect, no matter how good my intentions are, I still mess up! We all have a God shaped hole in our heart; we can try to fill it up with so many comforts and earthly love, but they will NEVER satisfy! We can only be at true peace when we accept God’s love / His death / His resurrection, and fall into His forgiving arms. God Himself IS love! True life-changing, fulfilling eternal love can only come from Him…

Love / Murphys Community Church

This morning I listened to a great sermon by my Dad called, “Love.” Seems like Dad and I on the same wavelength this week! Ha ha ha 🙂 If you need encouragement today, I highly recommend watching / listening. I’ll give you a hint at the outline – LOVE – Longevity / Omniscience  / Vigorous / Engaging LOVE that lasts for all eternity. Thank you, MCC, for your faithfulness! ❤

 

 

 

 

Divine Romance

My favorite worship love song, is by Phil Wickham, what a surprise! His beautiful song, “Divine Romance” has been one of the many ways God has shown His love for me…

Back in 2010 when I was pregnant with Bella, I will never forget my 1st ultrasound. The first few months of my pregnancy, I was terrified I would lose her. I tried to keep my eyes on Jesus, thanking God everyday, for another day with my baby. But I was so scared; too scared to even hope I would hold this baby in my arms… It took everything within me to stay calm and go through the motions of daily life. I will never forget the moment I felt the warmth of God’s steady hand on me. We sang, “Divine Romance” at church the Sunday before, and it was playing in my mind as we went for our 12 week sonogram. The lyrics were swimming in my brain, when I saw my Bella for the 1st time… Tears started to flow as my heart sang, “for You, I sing I dance. I rejoice in this divine romance.” I instantly knew she was (and is!) my love gift from God. He knew how much I needed her and He heard all the prayers I said, year after year, for this sweet baby…

The fullness of Your grace is here with me
The richness of Your beauty’s all I see
The brightness of Your glory has arrived
In Your presence God, I’m completely satisfied

For You I sing I dance
Rejoice in this divine romance
Lift my heart and my hands
To show my love, to show my love

A year later, I never would have imagined I would have a healthy baby girl at home, yet also struggling on dialysis and preparing for a kidney transplant. Again, I was terrified! What if something happened to my brother? What is something happened to me? What if we went through all this and I rejected the kidney anyway? I was so afraid I would be torn from my family that had already endured so much in the past year. The transplant was far more painful than I expected (will get into that another time!) When I woke up in ICU, I was literally clawing the plastic bed apart with my nails… it was far beyond what I ever could have imagined! In the middle of my screaming, with doctors and nurses scrambling all round me, a man grabbed my hand… I’m convinced God sent me this angel who knelt beside the bed and calmed my hurting heart… He held my hand, looked into my eyes and said, “Crystal, hold you, you’re going to be ok…” What a beautiful gift and what a beautiful God that always shows His love for me, even in the worst times when the sky is falling! Still His unfailing love remains!

That night in ICU, the nurses kept waking me up, saying I would stop breathing every time I fell asleep… I had them put my earbuds in for me and connected my MP3 (a real old school one!) and hit “shuffle.”  That night God made me a custom playlist that is one of my all time favorites. I love when He makes Himself so obvious! As my Dad says, “I love when God shows off!” and we can stand back and say, “HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD?!” One of the songs that hit me the most that night was, again, “Divine Romance.” The nurse had to keep wiping my face with a towel because there was a flood of tears; of joy, relief, of love that my faithful God never leaves me and never fails…

A deep deep flood, an Ocean flows from You
A deep deep love, yeah it’s filling up the room
Your innocent blood, has washed my guilty life
In Your presence God I’m completely satisfied

I could feel His love “filling up the room” – oh I never would have chosen this pain but to witness miracles in the midst of it was beautiful and life changing. I trust Him because I know He is ALWAYS there! ❤

For You I sing I dance
Rejoice in this divine romance
Lift my heart and my hands
To show my love, to show my love

At Night His Song Is With Me…

Do you have a moment to worship? To lay down your burdens at the feet of Jesus and let His love heal and fill all the cracks in your heart? Will you take His hand and allow Him to show you the divine romance He wants you to experience?

Below is the song, “Divine Romance” as well as my special transplant mix: 2011 : At Night His Song is With Me

God bless you and I pray you feel His love in a special way today! ❤

“By day the Lord commands His steadfast love,
and at night His song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.”
~ Psalm 42:8

 

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