Time Out

I was thinking today.

That's kind of funny if you know me at all, because, I think a lot! Probably too much.  Anyway, I was thinking about the doctor's appointment I just came from and the many I've been to since this crazy story began back in May.  And, the more I think about all that has happened since that first day when I fell out of the shower, the harder it is to tell my story or to even get out of bed in the morning without acknowledging the overwhelming provision and protection of my sovereign God. So, I want to take a time out from the crazy/silly/bloody details of the last 6 months and remind myself, and anybody reading, of the most important details of all.

We could start with the fact that the morning I fell out of the shower I was at my parent's house instead of living alone...On a morning when my sister was running late, allowing her to find me...On a rare day off for my Mom.  Or, the fact that when I fell down the stairs I was with a good friend who could help me.  Or, maybe that when my leg felt funny one day and I probably would have taken an extra pain pill and gone to bed my Mom knew something serious was going on.  Or when it was time to get my IVC filter removed (I'll tell that story soon) and no doctor really knew why we were taking it out, we discovered a new major problem (I'll tell that story soon too).  Or, when I was wandering around the woods with some friends, things could have gone very wrong but they didn't.  Any detail of the last six months points to one thing...God's been there the whole time.

I find it quite interesting that while my physical body seems to be revolting from normalcy my heart and my mind have had a revolution of their own.  I have fallen in love with the gospel in a whole new way.  Sure I've believed the gospel most of my life.  I've believed in God and believed that He sent Jesus to reconcile us to Himself.  I believed that my belief in those things would allow me to spend eternity in Heaven one day.  And, I still do.  But, it's so much more than that.

The gospel is about everyday, every moment recognizing my need for mercy and grace that I don't deserve.  Every day.  Every moment.  It's about recognizing that I will never be good enough to earn God's favor but knowing that I already have it because of what Jesus did on the cross.  The gospel saves me but it also changes me.  The gospel increases my joy and transforms the way I see the world around me.  The gospel frees me.  The gospel is present-tense.  The Village Church puts it this way, "we never graduate or outgrow the gospel."

I heard this song for the first time at church a few weeks back and have been listening non-stop ever since, it pretty much sums it all up...



I'm so thankful for the gospel.  I'm so thankful that while my body has needed work my heart did too.  I'm thankful that everything I've encountered on this crazy journey has been a part of the plan and has been a constant demonstration of grace.  God's been there, He's protected, and He's provided the whole time.  And He will never leave me.