before i forget it, i'm writing about a beautiful epiphany. i am not the original thinker of this message, but i've adapted it/re-written it because it will change you. maybe. a friend of a friend created the following thought in her study of Christianity. when i heard it i took the deepest breath and let the words wash over me.
when you are feeling distant, or maybe when you've fallen away from God, take into consideration the return of the prodigal son. no matter what you do, or who you are, God is here. in my life i have sinned many times, i do so everyday. we are humans; it's in our nature. i can sin and "forget to pray" and run farther and farther away from the best life, away from my Father. i could dig a huge deep hole and jump in. i could seriously sin in every way imaginable. understand how terrible i could be and how far away i can run from Christ...then picture this prodigal son. put yourself in his sandals. all i have to do, is turn around. literally, that's it.
let me break it down for you. as a human, i make mistakes and i often forget about eternity and heaven. because my faith has been weakened by time and because i haven't actively studied and prayed as often as i should, i feel that i'm a lost cause at times. i worry that these things will prevent me from entering The Kingdom. just when i think i'm the farthest i can be from God the Father, i am reminded of the prodigal son. he sinned and sinned. he did everything wrong. if there was something bad to be involved in, he was there. and yet...because of God's unending love, all he had to do was turn around and face Him. and then the best thing happened: God did the rest of the work. God ran to him. God accepted him. God loved him. God took him in His arms solely because he turned around in realization. that's seriously all it took. how amazing is that?
i think about things like this all the time. i think about how far i've fallen from my God. i'm my own worst enemy of course and i judge myself very much. i know that i haven't killed anyone, i haven't coveted my neighbor. i've treated everyone as they should be treated. i'm actually an honest to goodness nice person. but i still sin. and i still cast God aside more often than not. i'm admitting it because sometimes we just need to say it out loud...or in this case 'type' it, in order for us to realize that He doesn't come first. i'm the first person to tell you that i am incredibly imperfect and i almost ALWAYS put God last. i feel like i can handle things on my own which is ridiculous. i can barely take care of my laundry; why on earth do i think i can handle love and money and goals alone? but back to the point...when i'm feeling low and i come to the realization that God loves me and that i need Him more than anything, the ONLY thing i have to do is turn around...or "look up" as some say. and without a doubt, without hesitation, without question God will do the rest.
how's that for true love? <3
