This morning as I was sitting here, I began to reflect on how I used to be so fearful of God, so uneasy around Him, and how I used to attempt to keep Him at “arms length” because I didn’t know that He was such a wonderful Heavenly Father—a wonderful Heavenly Father who delights in me. ?

As a believer, I had accepted Jesus when I was younger, but I had some issues that needed to come to the surface, some bandages that had to start coming off so that healing could begin to take place in my soul….

During this period of time, I couldn’t see my Heavenly Father in the way that I was created to….. and I lived in pure misery.

And you know, I know it broke God’s heart to allow me to endure what I did during those years…. but He loved me too much to let me stay there. He saw the outcome, He saw the way, He made the way. ☀️

And He loved me too much to let me be content and okay with never really knowing Him in a close way, in this lifetime.

He loved me too much to allow me to live in blindness. But I know that my situation and my circumstances also goes far beyond just me….

And I’m so thankful.

Here’s the thing… not only are we allowed to “come close” to Him, it’s what He longs for. It’s His heart’s desire. ?

It’s what He delights in—the relationships He has with His children.

He delights in us. ?

And He sees the whole story, the full picture of “us” and Him. ✍??

I’m so thankful He was willing to deal with my blindness and my stubbornness and my anger and hatred… I’m so thankful that Jesus washed it all away from my life. (Well, there still may be some stubbornness left in there… ??)

I’m so thankful that He’s removing the bandages, one by one, by one…

And as He removes the bandages, I can begin to see, little by little…

Who He really created me to be. ? And the funny thing is, I can also begin to see, how He sees me.

Thank You, Father. ? Thank You for inviting us to live closely with You. It is in that place, that we can begin to see and experience, how You really feel about us. And we learn and begin to understand, that You always welcome us to come close, and You always love when we’re around. ✨

-Heather ?