I can't believe it...but this journey is drawing to an end...this is the last week of our 11 week Made to Crave Study...and the final Blog Hop...
WOW! When I sat down to write this post, I had an overwhelming sense that everything had come full circle. Not in the traditional sense of "returning to the beginning". More in sensing initial wounds scab over...and feeling the life-giving blood pulse again underneath.
This week, more than any other in this 11 week stretch, brought back memories of where we started...and how far we have come in Christ's gracious strength! When we started Made to Crave on January 19th, I felt stuck...physically, emotionally, and spiritually! So much so that I titled my first blog post "
the starting BLOCK".
But as we continued...I read...and prayed...and pondered...AND...
I began to see glimmers of hope despite heartache
Reminders of love despite heartbreak
(The heart-shaped rock Nick gave me when we dating...10 years ago!)
Even Lysa's words in the two videos this week (
video 1 -
video 2), felt like a walk down memory lane. Her themes of perseverance, joy, and trusting our identity in Christ more than any other "marker-of-success"...that's what God's been speaking directly to me!! Portions of these videos felt like rereading my own posts from
2/12/2014 or (even more) from
2/26/2014! Praise Jesus! He's imprinting #truth deep in my #heart!
If this wasn't revelation enough...check out this conversation from last week. This feels "full circle" indeed...a true #joy marker!
So.....
It feels like I'm repassing the starting line...but I'm actually lapping it.
It looks like I'm recircling the mountain...but I'm actually climbing up.
Christ's strength and perseverance are #bridging-the-gap....
(The "Iron Bridge" near my grandparents' home in England..my favorite bridge in the world!)
I'm calling this process....
Full Circle - SLINKY style!
I felt like this when we started
In my own power, I was lost. My natural condition promised to pull me down forever...
But we serve a miraculous God! In Him and Him alone...I can defy nature...
I may not like it...but when the S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G is upward...it's always good.
In Him
