Here, Now: Unearthing Peace And Presence In An Overconnected WorldSample

These days . . . life is so different. I’m stunned at what I see when I look back. I survived living in a foreign land under desperate circumstances. I survived caring for my Daisy girl. I survived giving her over to God. And I survived the subsequent grief. I feel like a different person in so many ways, new layers I’ve put on, new memories, skills, and wisdom. Gosh, I’ve lived a lot of life so far. 

When I back up even further, I see an even more radical picture of what God has done in and through me. My past twenty years of being a grown-up—of ministry, career, family, survival, love, death, loss, and spiritual breakthrough—were nothing like I had expected. It wasn’t the script I had written for myself. In many ways, those things were so much harder than anything I thought was possible, yet I see that each season of life meant something. Each was purposeful. And each had opportunity to be fruitful, to yield buckets and buckets of shiny plump fruit.

The Teacher in Ecclesiastes knew what he was talking about. I could not possibly have seen the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end, that much was true. But even in the darkest hour, there was beauty and light. It’s like God was lovingly nudging me. One step at a time, lovely girl. That’s it, now another. Just hold my hand, and when we climb to the top you’ll see it all laid out. It’s something to release control of life—flying free, no parachute, no net. 

And even after everything I’ve been through, this passage is a balm to my heart as I write, and I hope it is for you too: “God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”

Let go. He’s got me. He’s got you. 

To continuing growing in peace and presence, visit http://bit.ly/herenowYV