Be Loved

There is something hopeful about a crossroad, a transition. Even in the uncertainty of not knowing what is next, there is something beautiful about the potential of what is becoming.

Over the past few weeks, I've been all over the place, from California, to North Carolina, to Connecticut. In a few days I will be on my way to Mexico, and that is as far as my life plans go as of today. Other than having solidly booked plane tickets and a set in stone return date back to the States, everything else in life feels up in the air.

If I really think about that reality, in my own understanding it gives way to waves of fear that I respond to with striving for a plan and analyzing "my" options in order to find some security for what's ahead. I try hard to remember all the promises God's given to me and all the dreams that are in my heart, and once I make a list of them, I then figure out on my own how they are going to come about.

You would think that after all these years, I would know by now that such planning never works.

On my way home from California, I barely slept on a red eye flight. I wanted to watch the sky change as the sunrise approached. While I was looking out the window, I felt as if I was parallel with the Big Dipper, and if I just could have safely stretched my hand out the window, maybe I could have touched the stars. Looking back on this memory, I am struck by the way constellations reflect aspects of the Maker's character. Whether there are earthquakes or storms or famine on the earth, the stars still hold their place. Same with God's love. Regardless of what life throws at me, or what I throw at it, God's love maintains a steady course that doesn't waver in its affection for me.

And in this I find a peace that meets and overcomes all my striving and wondering. To be loved. That is all there is for me to do, knowing that God is a keeper, and His love is stronger than anything I could even imagine. And what if that is really the only thing that I need to know-- that I am loved--and that love is the strongest compass, always pointing the way to true north...