"And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'" ~ Matthew 3:17
Most, if not all of us reading this blog, long to please the Lord in some way. I know I do. Fortunately, since I tend to fail a lot, I’m covered by His grace.
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| courtesy of thebiblerevival.com |
The very thought fills my entire being with a warm glow and I feel incredibly loved.
I don’t think I’ve ever shared this with anyone, not even my sister. But somehow she must have known because she sent me a card this week with an unfamiliar scripture on the front. I may have read it before and stored it in my subconscious, but I can’t be sure. I do wonder though, if this is where I came by my initial image of God being pleased with me.
"The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing." ~ Zephaniah 3:17
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| courtesy of thebiblerevival.com |
Music has always drawn me close to the Lord. This fact and the timing of my sister choosing a card with this scripture has reminded me that God’s timing is perfection. That she sent me this scripture at this particular time – God must have been sitting on her shoulder while she looked at cards and nudged her toward this one. My desire to give my best in whatever I do has been renewed because of it. (Thank you, Pam!)
I now have a burning desire to attain the utmost in this scripture – the part where not only is God delighting in me, He’s singing over me with joy!
What images do you hold onto of God?
Did they come from scriptures you read, or from something you were taught?
When the city decided to chop our trees down for a beautification project, I was not happy. How dare they take away something of mine that stirred my heart every time I looked at them? And as for that beautification project? It turned out to be an ugly shoulder between the road and the newly cemented sidewalk where my trees once stood. It didn't help that we had to actually pay for their little project. 
I’m not sure I really knew what to expect at the Festival, or if I even knew what a Cherry Blossom Festival was. But the cherry blossom song was special to me, and that was really all I needed to know. The other source of my excitement: my parents’ friends, Tom and his Japanese wife, Setsu, would be accompanying us that day. Tom was as fun as Setsu was sweet, and they meant the world to me. I simply adored them. Any opportunity to spend time with Setsu was special. Setsu lived in a traditional Japanese house, and I loved it when we went to visit her. 
The parade was spectacular. Samurai warriors led the parade, followed by Japanese girls in their kimonos. Dancers in costumes twirled colorful wood and paper umbrellas. The emperor and his wife (or people portraying them) were carried in on separate carriages. I was in awe. But perhaps the most amazing part of the entire day was standing on the cherry-tree-lined street under those wonderful pink and white trees with the occasional petal floating in the air around me. 
I remember being heartbroken when the time came to say goodbye to Tom and Setsu. Whether they moved back to the United States before we did, I don’t remember. I just remember how sad I was when I didn’t see her anymore. But God is so good. Just a few years ago, almost forty years later, I was able to see Setsu again. The years fell away and I was a little girl again, laughing, crying, and hugging my sweet Setsu. My mother, my sister, and Setsu and I had a very blessed time together that day, and I’m so thankful we did, because she passed away not long after that. 
