Just thinking

Seems like God has a way of slowing us down when He wants to get our attention.

Lately, He has blocked my path in some areas. I wasted time in helpless frustration before catching on to what He was doing.

So stepping back, I started looking.
Thinking.
Praying.

He's up to something different between us, something deeper. I catch glimpses of it here and there -- enough to capture my heart and cooperation.

Today, I read these words my friend, Ellie, wrote on her blog. With her permission, I share them with you.

"God is not a disciplinarian. There is a delight in knowing Him that I never realized existed. He disciplines me, but the goal is not that I become perfect as in a perfect model or display, but that we might have a perfectness in our relationship, no tension, no slights, no strain between us. Accepted with all my faults, loved with an abandoned delight, and called to grow into a perfect relationship."

These words so resonate with me!

I'm hungry for the kind of relationship that cannot be ruined by anyone's failures or weaknesses, or stupid misunderstandings. Where it's safe to screw up because grace is big enough and your heart is always seen with love. Where no one is looking at you with a critical eye, but instead with complete delight and a smile on their face. Where there is freedom to dream and grow and make mistakes along the way.

I'm beginning to understand that I already have what I long for. This is what God gives me.