For the past year, I have consistently been drawn to John 13 - 17 particularly

John 17: 21 -  " . . . that they will be one just as you and I are one - as you are in me, Father, and I am in you."

This article is NOT another plea for unity in the church.  It's about relationship and life and all the messy areas that come with living.

The last fifteen years of my life have been filled with "messy" life events, more than I bargained for, from a cancer diagnosis in 2002 to a near-death moment in 2015.  Even beyond 2015, life has held major challenges for me and my family. 

Through all the mess, God has been faithful and loving and good, and He has seasoned all the messes with great grace and mercy and healing.  I have truly been blessed. 

My heart has been able to sing amidst the rocks in the stream  - most of the time, and I've been able to place my broken pieces into His hands.  (You do know that it's the rocks in the stream that create the beautiful bubbling, musical sounds we hear and love.  No rocks, no music.)

Back to John.  These chapters contain Jesus' prayers for His friends which includes us.  These are His desires for us.  His desires were God's desires because they were one.

I firmly believe that ALL that comes our way is to bring us into oneness with our 

Father - that He would be in us and we would be in Him.  Our journey is a journey toward oneness with God.

This journey in not an emotional journey, not what we "feel."  It's a character journey all about who we are and aren't, who God is, and who we are to be.

I have found that as long as I am focused on myself and my experiences whether good or bad and focused on analyzing myself and my experiences, then my face is turned away from Him and my journey pauses.  I'm tired of hitting the pause button or getting stuck in the buffering zone.

I don't know what 2018 holds for me and my family.  However, I DO know that however great our needs and difficulties may be this year, there is an ENDLESS supply of love and grace and strength that is immeasurably more than I can even ask for or imagine.  

"JUST BECAUSE HE IS, JUST BECAUSE WE ARE HIS, ALL MUST GO RIGHT FOR US" even when it goes so very, very wrong. [Hannah W. Smith]  God's children know that God is enough.  He's enough for today.  He's enough for tomorrow.  He's enough for eternity.  

GOD loves me.

God LOVES me.

God loves ME.

Psalm 139: 17 says, "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered!"  For years I would read or quote this verse down to the thoughts part totally missing the emphasis of the verse.  Of course, His thoughts are precious, but this verse says how precious are His thoughts about me . . . about you.  THEY CANNOT BE NUMBERED.  Wow.  A - mazing.

Today, Father, 

I say, "YES!"

Yes to Your life lived in me,

to Your mind,

to Your interests, 

to Your riches,

to Your joys,

to Your sorrows,

to Your rest,

to Your character.

Yes to showing others Your likeness,

to walking, talking, thinking, feeling, and acting as You did and do.

Yes to all Your prayers for me, for us,

to oneness with You.

Yes to living by faith and not by feelings.

Yes to being

and contentment,

to Your being enough.

Yes, Father,

more of You,

more of Your love,

more of Your life,

more of Your legacy.