Mistakes

From 11/9/13

My fingers are so nipped by the chill that they can barely operate the neat cursive I've intentioned. 

I'm sitting high on a hillside while my heart lays defenseless in the valley sweeping softly beneath my feet. 

Another morning has come, and The Lord has delivered the new mercies He's promised.

I awoke. I moved my feet to the floor and then in step-by-step procession to begin another day--another hour--of the plan He has determined for me. 

I'm not angry with God. The Lord gives and The Lord takes away. 

But the beauty of His stripping us of every morsel of strength, every material possession, every dream or wish we've ever had is that

It doesn't mean it's over. 

A part of your life may be over, a part of yourself may be over. 

But when I fall on Jesus as the wind whips my everything away--like an umbrella dismembered in a cyclone--it's the end of one scene

Before He sweeps in with the second act of redemption. 

There is no hurt that can't be healed by our Healer. 

There is no brokenness that cannot be set right and made whole by our Mender. 

There is no breathlessness that can't be breathed new life into it by the Breath of God. 

There is no death that can't be revived by our Resurrector. 

There is no broken heart that can't be pieced back together by our Great Romancer. 

What seems torn and distorted and lifeless now will one day be redeemed--be it here or in heaven. 

Like Job who lost everything only to have it returned to him in multiplied blessings...

Like Joseph who was beaten, sold, and wrongfully imprisoned, only to be exalted above those who sought his death...

Like Mary who watched her son be crucified for every sin of even the blackest hearts, only to watch him rise and bring hope for the world...

Something cannot be so broken that it cannot be made new again. 

Recently when I faced a most painstakingly awful, awful day full of fear and unknown, following the hardest day of my life and a week filled with intense hell, I boarded a plane with my blonde-haired beauty

and wondered, cried out to God, poured my spirit out to Him for some help, some peace as to how I might possibly get through this day. 

I was harried and depleted of all I had and trying to keep my munchkin somehow quietly perched on my lap, while I stared at the wings of the plane and wished to be anywhere but there. 

And then He spoke sweetly and so clearly:

Chels, nothing about today is a mistake. 

It's not a mistake that you're on a plane. 

It's not a mistake that you were in Texas. 

One by one, He listed them to my soul, citing every detail about that day--from the day of the week to the hour of my flight--and how it wasn't a mistake and hadn't caught Him by surprise.

I listened as intently as I ever had because here, right here was I in the holy, magnificent presence of the Living God I've known and loved since I was a child. 

And almost instantly, my squirmy toddler fell perfectly asleep in my lap. 

It's not a mistake that Harlow is asleep right now so that I can speak to your heart. 

My heart fluttered and I choked quietly on the lump that had formed in my throat. 

And nothing about when you get home will be a mistake either.

Little did I know that what awaited my return home would prove to be the second hardest night of my life.  But it had been so delicately ushered in by the baton in His almighty hand that was directing the symphony of my suffering, I felt that in the middle of a loss and what seemed like a huge mistake, I had the victory of His presence. 

I'm a poor, wretched sinner heavy laden with past regrets and extraordinary mistakes. 

Everyone makes mistakes. 

But in the care of God's sovereignty, any mistake can be transformed into the very thing that makes you surge with strength. 

He can restore, and He will, but it will take time. 

He can redeem, and He will, but it will take time. 

And when those "mistakes" get placed into His perfectly capable hands, they won't have any power over you. 

No dominion. 

No question. 

If you give Him all you've got, He can find every last piece of your battered heart--even if it's settled into dust--and recreate something immensely better. 

Nothing about today is a mistake. 

Nothing about your situation is a mistake. 

He sees your heart. He sees your hurt. 

But, oh, how He sees the victory ahead. 

Lord, how my foes increase!

There are many who attack me. 

Many say about me, "There is no help for him in God."

But You, Lord, are a shield around me,

My glory, and the One who lifts up my head. 

I cry aloud to The Lord, and He answers me from His holy mountain. 

I lie down and sleep;

I wake again because The Lord sustains me. 

I am not afraid of the thousands of people who have taken their stand against me on every side. 

Rise up, Lord!

Save me, my God!

You strike all my enemies on the cheek;

You break the teeth of the wicked. 

Salvation belongs to The Lord;

May your blessing be on your people. 

Psalm 3