It has seemingly been forever since the last time I rambled, so here I am, ready to ramble on!
In a little over two weeks, I head out to the land of oceans and unbelievable scenery to hug the necks of some of my very dearest friends. Oh, and I guess I need to do the school thing while I'm there. I cannot believe that Residency is almost here, and that in a little over three months, I will have completed my Masters. That, my friends, is unreal.
This journey has been one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had. I have always believed in the beauty of counseling and have seen its power at work many times in my life and in the lives of others. However, my heart for it has grown in ways that I did not even know possible. Through the assignments and projects, God has equipped me with some tangible tools that I know will help me in my future endeavors (whatever they may be)! While it has been an exhausting (both emotionally and mentally) ride, I know without a shadow of a doubt that God had His hand on this.
Have you ever had one of those moments where you have just fallen in love with God all over again? That is what the last eight months have been, and they have been unreal. During my Spring Break (I'm really going to miss those when I go back to the real world), I read an amazing book called The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler. I feel as if every single person should pick up a copy of this book and give it a read. It took me forever to get through just because I oftentimes sat and marveled at how awesome of a God we serve. Outside of the Bible, I have never read a book that has been more convicting, encouraging, overwhelming, and awe-inspiring, and I know it will impact your life.
In Chandler's book, he brings us back to the simple yet profound basis of our Christian faith: the cross of Jesus Christ. Now, if you're like me, you have heard about Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection for like ever. I was in Christmas plays, Easter plays, the whole works. This is a story I have heard so many times that I cannot even count. Because of this, its power became all too familiar to me. One of my greatest role models once told me that familiarity breeds complacency, and sadly, I had become complacent with the saving power of the cross of Jesus Christ. However, as I read the pages of this book, the beauty of that gift came alive to me again. As tears poured down my face, it was like I was experiencing my salvation for the first time. I know that I am a sinner and have just as many human flaws as the next person. I know that I do not deserve God's grace. And here came Jesus...a perfect, spotless lamb, who took on flesh and humbled himself, so that I could have a way to spend eternity with Him. We oftentimes remember that God is a God of love and all those other warm, fuzzy qualities that make us want to do little jigs of joy. However, we seem to forget that God is also a God of wrath, justice, and righteousness. God had to make his perfect justice, righteousness, wrath, grace, mercy, love, etc., come together and they did just this through the blood of Jesus Christ. There is nothing that made God choose to do this. He doesn't need us. I think that's another downfall of our lovely human nature; we sometimes think we are indispensable when it comes to Kingdom plans. This is far from true because God is self-sufficient, and that makes this choice even more beautiful. God loved me that much to let my selfish, sinful nature be reconciled and redeemed through the blood of His Son. Let the gravity of that hit you because it's powerful. That is what Christianity is. I pray we never lose the power of that gift for it is the foundation of our very faith.
I have also been marveling at the creation of God. The Explicit Gospel draws attention to the fact that God's redemptive plan goes far beyond just you and me; this is a global thing. All of His creation is inwardly groaning for the day when full restoration will come. I am such a nature freak, and God speaks to me in amazing ways when I am surrounded by the beauty He created. However, every beautiful sunset I see, every mountain peak I marvel at, every expansive ocean that blows my mind is only a fraction of the fully restored beauty that will be when Christ returns. I do not know about the rest of you, but that blows my mind and completely excites me. It also makes me feel really small. If nothing else, God has reminded me of the importance of humility and the absolute majestic and awe-inspiring nature of who He is.
Easter is just around the corner, and I challenge you, don't ever let the gravity of the gift of the cross slip away from you. Take a moment to step outside and marvel at the beautiful world God has given you and find hope in the fact that this is only a glimmer of the ultimate beauty that is to come.
This was a long one, but since I was avoiding reading about counseling teenagers (woah, buddy!), I figured I'd spill out some thoughts.
Thanks for letting me ramble.
In Him,
Em
