Got to add to my heavy equipment resume last night. Tractor style. Check out this beautiful driveway friends. I have never appreciated a smooth driveways so much in my life. The whole grading a driveway thing is no joke. But it was fun and my tractor coach was a trooper. I think I have a little bit of a farmgirl in me after all.
I just want cute clothes to do it all in.
Also, ended up with this weird rash on my neck. I called my mom to tell her I was dying. It’s because I got bit by a mouse... obviously. She didn’t believe me. But seriously, Rat Bite Fever is a real thing, people. Google told me so. And there is a rash. So... obviously, I have it. Ok, sooooo it mostly shows up on your hands and feet, but nothing in my life goes according to script which means I could be the first to have this weird neck rash because of it. Someone has to be the first. Yeah, yeah…. Let me help y’all out here…
Calm it down over there Stephanie.
It's fine. I'm fine. Everything is fine.
And finally… FINALLY… I finished the book of Ezekiel. Oh. My. Word. I didn’t think that would ever happen. I have never been so excited to see the book of Daniel in my life. I’m definitely looking forward to some fiery furnace and lion’s den action. And some handwriting on the wall. I would like to order one of that in my life please. Some handwriting on the wall telling me what to do. I fell like that would be helpful. Ok, so not the outcome. I’ll pass on how that story ended (the king died, hard pass on that). I definitely want a better outcome than that scenario. I’ll just be over here learning from other people’s mistakes with that one thank you..
Someday I might brave the book of Ezekiel again. But until then, there is one thing in particular that stood out to me. There’s one phrase that makes an appearance over and over and over again in the book of Ezekiel…
“That they will know that I am the Lord.”
At the time Ezekiel was written, it was written to a group of people who had broken faith with God. These people were living solely for themselves without regard for God and his plan for them. For all intents and purposes, these people were faithless… And yet, God didn’t let it end there.
SO MUCH MERCY AND GRACE.
Of course, we have the privilege of hindsight. We have the rest of the Bible after Ezekiel to see how God showed his mercy and grace. There were definitely consequences for these people’s sinful choices. But even in these people’s faithlessness and even in their rebellion, God eventually restored these people and brought forth Jesus Christ as a Savior for them and for us.
But that statement, “That they will know that I am the Lord” haunts me a little.
Because as I look at our world right now all I can think is…
What is it going to take?
What is it going to take for God to get our attention?
What is it going to take for people to truly turn to Him?
Unfortunately, it often isn’t until our own personal worlds fall apart that we seem to truly turn to God. I definitely can speak from personal experience to that one. Otherwise known as the last sixth months of my life. It took the Lord allowing everything to be stripped away from me, for me to truly begin to put Him, instead of myself, at the center of my world. Hardest six months of my life, and yet, I wouldn’t change it... and I’m a different person because of it. I’m pretty sure that falls under the whole “God working together all things for the good of those who love him” category. Sometimes I hate that verse.
Am I allowed to say that?
And yet, even in that, all I see is love. Because as hard as it is to say, I can with confidence look back and see that it was for my good. Oh, it certainly hasn’t felt like it in the process. And I still deeply struggle because, quite honestly, there’s still a lot that doesn’t feel good. And while, the story is a little different in Ezekiel, I believe the bottom line is still the same:
That they may know that I am Lord.
Whether it’s outright rebellion that needs to be checked, priorities that need to be rearranged, hearts that need to be changed, or simply growth that needs to happen, I believe it is God’s desire that we know that he is Lord. Why? I’m sure there are books of reasons, but one I know for certain is because he truly does have what is best planned.
He isn’t the parent who is looking at us saying follow me or else. He isn’t standing there with a list of rules just waiting for us to break one. And he doesn’t want to see us hurt. He’s the parent who is standing there telling us 'I love you so much I want nothing more than for you to follow me', begging us to choose him because he really does have what is best planned... even when it hurts. Desiring for us to truly understand that He is Lord.
Like a parent who is willing to allow a child to experience a little bit (or a lot) of hardship if it means that they are changed for the better...
So does our God.
All while showing us grace over and over and over again.
That is all.
Bring on Daniel. (all the happy celebratory emojis here). Yes, Please.