Let me explain one thing, just for clarification. I am just me. Although at times I can be kinda cute, sassy, fun/funny, silly, and even adorable, I am not a person who is filled with self confidence. I am actually quite introverted! IT’S TRUE!! I even took a test to prove it….. like, maybe, 4-5 times just to be sure! 😜 Regardless of all of this, I am me. Who is that? Well, I am a daughter. I was the wife of the most amazing man for many years before he went to heaven. I am a mom (I love that part). I am a friend (and I do try to be a good one). Best of all, I am a perfectly imperfect child of God. I am the daughter of the Kind of Kings! It has taken me many years and an amazing counselor to begin to realize how powerful that statement, “I am me”, can be, but that is a ramble for another day.
I am not a motivational speaker or one prone to giving great inspirational chats. Quite frankly, I don’t get up in front of people and speak, so I don’t see that motivational speaker thing ever being a concern. 😂 Despite those prior statements, I do find quite the talent in being able to ramble and I do THAT quite often. What is to follow is just a “ramble”, but it is something that touched my heart. I decided to share my journaling just in case it might be an encouragement to someone. So, here I go.
I find myself to be an overachiever in that “imperfect” area, so knowing that God loves me… all of me, no matter what, no matter when, no matter where, makes being his child even more amazing. Unconditional love of a perfectly imperfect child by a perfectly perfect God. Just let that sink in. That is not even where this ramble was going, but it a rabbit trail worth thinking on, meditating on, and thanking God for. So, let me get back to the purpose of this entire post!
I grew up in church. It was the year I would turn four years old when someone knocked on the door of our house in Santa Clara, California, and invited my parents to church. From that moment forward, until adulthood, I can not remember a time that I was not at our church at LEAST 3-4 times a week (normally more).
I grew up learning all about prayer. I learned that we should take all of our needs, concerns, and even our wants to God. I learned that God would answer….when he was ready. I learned that he would either say, “Yes, no, or wait”. I learned that sometimes God’s “yes” would come after a long period of “wait”. I memorized Psalms 27:14, which says, “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” I learned that verse meant just what it said. We were to wait on the Lord, with a good spirit (courageously), and if we did this he would strengthen our heart (give us the strength to be courageous). When you are in church a minimum of 3 times a week, not counting special meetings, conferences, camps, etc., you hear a lot about praying, faith, waiting, and, obviously, so much more.
Yesterday I was talking to a friend. Okay, well, actually, I was getting my 90 minute Mother’s Day massage (Thank you to my sweet daughter, Emily!) with my massage therapist, Clara. We were chatting about life, husbands, families, God…. Okay, well, you get the idea. ☺️ She was telling me the story of when she and her husband began dating. Just prior to that she had gone through a very sad breakup. As she and her mom were talking one day after the breakup, her mom told her, “One day God will give you your ‘and suddenly…’” The story was beautiful because God did give her the “and suddenly” that her mom had talked about that day and she has an amazing husband and a baby on the way.
Anyway, y’all, I cannot tell you how that statement, “One day God will give you your ‘and suddenly’” hit me. It was so powerful. It was so…. soothing…comforting. I promise you that I got chills when she said that because it hit me so strong. Needless to say, I could NOT get this thought out of my mind!!! See in the Bible God is often found doing something “suddenly”. You will read verse after verse that says “and suddenly…” followed by what God did or what happened…………. As this statement rolled around in my head, I soon realized that I had NEVER thought about the “and suddenly” moments in the Bible in a personal way.
Trust me, when you have been in church for most of 45ish years, you probably have read the Bible through at least a few times, but if not, you probably have heard a sermon on almost every verse in the Bible. Don’t roll your eyes at me - I know I am probably exaggerating a little bit here. The point is that I could not stop thinking bout this and I had this sudden urge to look up the all of the “and suddenly” statements in the Bible.
There are a lot of “suddenly” moments and I had a list of maybe 15-20 “good ones”, but narrowed it down a bit. Check these out:
Acts 9:3 - And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven
Mark 9:8 - And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.
Acts 2:2 - And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Luke 2:13 - And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Acts 16:26- And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.
Mark 9:8 - And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.
Acts 2:2 - And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Luke 2:13 - And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Acts 16:26- And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.
Seriously guys! God showed up in some pretty amazing ways and did some pretty amazing things and took care of some pretty crazy situations (Acts 16:26), but he did them “and suddenly”.
And suddenly. If you are reading this let me first commend you for making it through my thoughts and my rambles. If you are reading this, I pray, even as I am typing these words, that God will show himself to you in some wonderful “and suddenly” moments.
Yes, God wants us to pray. Yes, God can answer our prayers with a yes, a no, or a wait answer; however, God may just give you an “and suddenly” moment.
God has done some pretty crazy, wonderful, and unplanned “and suddenly” things for me. God has surprised me with some “and suddenly” moments that are so clearly miracles from God. I used to call these “God things” or the “whispers of God”. This week ended with me excited about all of the “and suddenly” things God has in store for me, for my kids, and for those around us.
