Happy birthday!

 

Spring is a time for birthing, and the month of May is no exception! May is the month that I celebrate my birthday. Now I don’t know about the rest of you, but for me, my birthday has always been a bittersweet day.

Sweet in the fact that I LOVE celebrating birthdays! Growing up, this was the one day that I got to eat the most perfect dinner because the menu consisted only of my favorite foods. Friends and family would give me cards, money and gifts just for coming into this world on my special day. With so many wonderful things associated with birthdays, how could they be bitter?

Well, despite the fact that I loved birthday parties, I rarely got invited to any. And when I would invite the 15 to 20 kids that I wanted to come to my birthday party, I typically only had 2 or 3 that would come. Now don’t get me wrong, I thank God for my three faithful friends as a kid. But being rejected by so many of my peers always weighed my heart with sorrow. I would wonder if there was something wrong with me. Why didn’t people want to be my friend?

So each year as I continue to grow and prosper under God’s loving and faithful hand, these same mixed emotions are stirred up. But this year, things are different. You see, last year, God gave me a personal word. He told me that He couldn’t wait for me to be born! That He loves spending time with me! Now I’ve been meditating on this word for several months, but I am still blown away by it. My Father in Heaven has always celebrated my birth, even before it happened!!! So regardless of who remembers my birthday, or who may or may not call me, regardless of what may or may not happen on my birthday, I am going to celebrate and rejoice because my Father and Creator is going to celebrate with me.

Now I’ve shared this to provide you with some encouragement. You see, God doesn’t wait to love us only on our birthdays. God doesn’t wait to celebrate you just on one certain day out of the year. God rejoices, dances, and sings over you because of who you are! He loves you with a depth, width, height, and breadth that is insurmountable! So take time today to celebrate your Father, but also take time to rejoice in what He rejoices over…you! Happy birthday to you!

~Dr. Matt

Image Credit © Tammy Sanders

Using the Right Light

1Peter 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priest-hood, an holy nation, a peculiar  people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light.

And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of host, in that day when I make up my jewel; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Malachi3:17

A friend of mine and I went into a jewelry store recently. While we were looking, the lady asked if she could clean our rings. When she returned them to us, she told my friend how beautiful her diamond was. She didn’t comment on mine. Okay, I admit it. I was a little hurt.  When we left the store and got outside, I held my ring up to the sun. It was shining beautifully. That’s when I realized what was wrong. She wasn’t looking at my ring in the same light as I was. When I look at it, I see my husband’s love. I am reminded of how he chose me. He worked many hard hours to pay for this ring. It symbolizes so much that can’t be seen under a microscope.

I am thankful that God looks at us through the refection of the “Son.” He doesn’t see our flaws. We were created to shine in the light of God’s love. We are God’s masterpiece. We are to use that same light when we look at others. They are not to be placed under our microscopes. We are to hold their lives up to his light.

My desire is to live my life allowing God’s light to shine through my life.

~Connie Robinson

Image Credit © Tammy Sanders

Wrapped in His Arms

Most children look to their daddies to be their helpers: to fix everything for them when they’re too little to do it themselves. “My toy is broken, daddy. Can you fix it for me?” a child says with pleading eyes.

My story is a little different. I had a broken heart that couldn’t be easily fixed with tape or new batteries. I would have given anything for a dad who wanted to spend time with me when I was little. I used to be so sad when a movie would show a little girl climbing up in her daddy’s lap because that was something I never experienced.

I never felt safe around my daddy growing up. He was tall and had a booming voice that made me jump when he entered the room. I couldn’t just go up to him and say, “Daddy, I need a hug,” because he was often too busy doing his own thing. After a while, I just quit waiting for him to play with me because the sting of rejection was too much for my little heart to take.

When I came to Gateway, I was just a young girl still trying to get used to my parents’ divorce. I remember hearing sermons about the Father’s love. It was unlike anything I’d ever heard of before. Apostle David would explain that God loves each one of us unconditionally. I desperately wanted to believe that, but I had been so disappointed many times before in my life, and I needed help believing even that. Thank God that Holy Ghost is my helper! As I learned to pray in tongues for my own growth and edification, my Helper showed up to fix my broken heart.

After being able to grasp that God really wanted a relationship with me, scars and all, I began to let Holy Ghost heal my heart little by little. It started with praying in tongues and meditating on the words of the songs each time we worshipped in church.  I would find myself humming the words during the week when I was alone. Holy Ghost would take those words and help me see how they applied to ME personally.

It wasn’t always easy, but over time, Holy Ghost helped me see that it didn’t matter if my daddy ever told me that he loved me or not. God’s love became real to me, and I knew that HE cared for me. Through surgeries, falls, and awards ceremonies at school, Holy Ghost has helped me get through it all, letting me know and experience His love. He was there to help me let down the walls that I put up to keep others out, and through that I began to experience God’s love through those around me as well. I have found that I don’t have to do anything to impress God; I don’t have to be perfect. He just loves me for me. How awesome is that?!

You may think that you are too broken, too messed up, or too shameful for God to ever love you. That’s not the case, my friend. Once I let Holy Ghost help me experience God’s love, my life has never been the same. As I fully submitted to God, trusting Him to be the father I never had, He has given me an unspeakable peace concerning my daddy. God’s Holy Spirit has helped mend that void in my life, and He can do the same for you.

I dare you to believe Holy Ghost to be your Helper. He is all that you need! See what happens!

~by Madison Sanders