In the stillness

I love the snow, and I miss it. Of course the day I leave home to come back to school in Virginia there's a huge storm with lots of snow. Here? 60 degrees outside. At first I was pretty bummed....well, in all honesty I still am...but this morning I decided to make the best of it and enjoy the weather for what it is. I went for a run and decided to take some quality time with God at the beach. There's something about the ocean, the sand, the stillness, that just changes things....changes my attitude and my outlook. So I decided to read.

I was reading a book by Max Lucado and he was talking about how he gave an orphan some food and the boy later found him, looked at him with his big brown eyes and said "Obrigado" (Thank you). Lucado talks about how moved he was to have that little boy thank him for a simple piece of bread. And how much more God must be moved when I actually take the time to say thank you...for saving my soul. I looked over the ocean, with the birds flying around and the calmness that seemed to fall over everything and saw things in a new way. Thank you Jesus for what you did. Thank you for saving my soul. How petty my problems seem, how insignificant my worries. All my concerns and requests I wanted to bring before God this morning, I put aside to just thank Him for who He is....not for what He can do for me. Thank Him for always being there and for saving such a complaining, fearful, hesitant, girl like me.

The words of Hillsong played on my ipod that seemed to solidify my new perspective: "There is no one else for me, none but Jesus. Crucified to set me free...now I LIVE to bring Him praise. In the stillness, in the quiet, I know you are God....All my delight is you...all of my hope, all of my strength"