All We Are

Recently I have had the great privilege of traveling a couple of times to here my husband preach. I love this because he is my favorite preacher. With that usually comes some great opportunities to meet new people, catch up with old friends and worship through music with bodies of believers I don't know. This is good for me because I get easily distracted with people I know because I think about what God is doing in and through them in my life. When I am away from home my heart is usually fully open to all God is doing everywhere and through out all time.

During these travels I have been lead in worship by Matt Bayless. He is a great guy. There is a particular group of songs that he sings I love. They are new to me but I have grown to love them. They focus on God in creation...how the moon and stars sing of God's glory. How the cannon's speak of his greatness. I love to sing about God's creation because I think it is amazing how creative God is. Each flower is his idea...some bloom only for one day but each from His creative mind. I agree with Him...it is good. Like Rylee the Ocean makes me want to Jump!

There is another song that we have been singing that says this "All we are is yours, here for a moment to give you praise, all we are is yours" My soul agrees with this because it is deeply true. God is teaching me this right now. I told Matt that I was so glad to have this song because I needed a way to sing it. I feel it is God that he brought me this tune and these words to sing what HE has already been teaching me.

You see it is true that ALL WE ARE IS YOURS....We belong to God. We are his. Some don't know it yet because all people belong to Him. Anything else that I am falls inside the boundaries of first belonging to God. Henri Nouwen says "I belong to Abba Father and He belongs to Me" Sometimes I think I belong to my husband, children, parents, family, friends, church, community, to my grief, to my pain, to sadness....then I remember oh no "I belong to HIM!" This is what I am...I am HIS. These other things I give myself to are ways to give him praise. They are glimpses of belonging. Hopefully my children will understand belonging because they belonged to me. They will know what it means to be fully loved because I loved them that way. They will know what it looks like to be looked at as a blessing because my eyes sparkled when I looked at them. I know I feel this way because of my parents. I understand the unconditional love of God because I belong to Brian. Brian loves me the way I am right now. Not some old version of me, not some future version of me. ME! This helps me understand that God loves me and that God will never leave me. BUT it is still a glimpse of what God has for me in HIM. These relationships are only the beginning. When I give myself to them I am learning how to give myself to God....He is what it is all about.

That I could belong to God..to be chosen...this is not exclusion of others but inclusion, a grand invitation into his Kingdom. These truths keep me in check regarding Regan's death. She was never mine. Sometimes I tricked myself into thinking that. She has always belonged to him. Death when we are alive in Christ is a full revelation of what we have been living all along (I think I got this idea from Nouwen too). Regan's death is reminding me that I too belong to the Father. What a blessing. Blessing seems like the simple word to say for such a great gift. I am glad I get to practice belonging with Brian, Ryder, Rylee and Regan, what a wonderful way to give Him praise. Even if for a moment.