Hello there friend, If no one has told you today, let me tell you - YOU are a treasure in God’s sight.
He sees you. No, He really sees you. Your hurt. Your heart. Your harrowing journey to this very moment. In the darkness, in the small, narrow spaces, in the forsaken places, where it feels like there is no air to breath, He was with you, and…He is with you.
Ready. Waiting. Just say the word. He wants to answer.
He wants to breathe new life into your heart, your mind, your emotions, your relationships, your very life and soul. He wants you to know His life-changing hope, His soul-reviving love, His gritty abba father faithfulness.
God wants to be the balm to all your wounds of rejection, abandonment, suffering, trauma, neglect, and abuse, until those things intended for your destruction become the things He uses for your very good, for the rescue of others, and for His glory.
Jesus wants to do all of these things and if you ask, He will answer.
Let me tell you something I have learned in the 25 years I have followed Jesus; Jesus not only answers every time, but He IS the answer every time!
This is the truth I want you to grasp right now, in this moment wherever you are, whatever you are facing; Jesus is the answer.
Seek Him, let Him find you, let Him love you the way He has wanted to love you since before time began.
Once you let the love of Jesus shape your heart, mind and soul, so much darkness falls away. You begin to take hold of the fact that you are not your wounds. You are not what has happened to you. You are not what people have done to you. You are not the negative things you think about yourself.
You ARE who Jesus says you ARE: A beloved child of God. The daughter of a king. A woman redeemed, restored, and built for a purpose. A saint meant to to love God, love herself, and love others. A hope bearer and grace dealer called to bring God’s forever kingdom of love, justice and peace to bear on a broken world.
Rest in Him. Lean into Him. Trust in Him. He will do the rest.
Is this a tall order? I suppose it sounds that way, but in the hands of the loving creator, nothing is too hard. Nothing. The God who has all the power of the universe on His side, and if you have made a decision to serve Christ, who’s Holy Spirit resides in your heart, mind and soul, makes it easy… soul easy.
God is yours and you are His. He is your father and you are His child. He is the shepherd and you are the tender sheep in His care. He is the potter and you are the clay.
The work is His. The protection, the strength, the plan, the building, the courage…it’s all His and now yours…because you are His.
If you are loving this sense of purpose you are reading, but wondering if it applies to you. Well, it does.
Did you know Jesus has been pursuing you with His love for your whole life up until this very moment, and He will continue to pursue you with His love for the rest of your life?!
The romance of a lifetime. And your name, beautiful one, safe and sound in the center of the story.
Whether you have said yes to Jesus in the past, or you are saying yes to Him now, or yes to Him again now, this is the most important decision you will ever make.
Choosing to respond to Jesus’ love by saying "yes," you can love me and love through me, will change the trajectory of your life.
I have seen the love of Jesus in action for over two decades.
The love of Jesus has delivered me from PTSD, anxiety, postpartum depression, health crises, grief & so much more!
The love of Jesus has delivered me into a safe home, a marriage with a true partner, the beauty of being the mom of two little princes, a graduate degree in narrative theology, biblical interpretation, and theological ethics, the call of being an executive producer and host on, “100 Huntley Street,” Canada’s longest running daily television show, the blessing of being a Bible teacher and writer, and the gift of writing this letter of HOPE to you right now dear friend.
So what does the love of Jesus look like when it has fully infiltrated our hearts, minds, emotions and souls?
It looks like hope, healing and freedom. It looks like those things that were once dead coming back to life. It looks like redemption and restoration. It looks like peace and unity. It looks like all of this and more for our lives and for our neighbours lives.
It looks like my life story informing your life story that the God of the universe is calling us both to take our place in the greatest story ever told.
Will you join me? Will you answer the call to the one who is the answer?
Will you journey with me as I journey with Him so we can journey together on the adventure of a life time?
Our tour guide is Jesus and He can be trusted.
He knows your story. He knows your heart. He knows the way. He wants to take you and I to places of hope, healing and freedom in our hearts, minds and souls. To places where anyone who sees us will know, there is one who loves them too.
Xo Lara