A Single Moment...

There are those moments in life. You know...those moments you can look back on and remember every feeling and emotion that ran through you. You can remember the way your heart beat so fast that you had no choice but to move. To respond. Those moments where everything around you was just a blur.

We have all had them. I can look back and remember specific times where the Lord moved in my life. Just like that, everything changed. Those single moments in time made all of the difference in the world. It only takes a moment.

There was the moment I gave my heart to Jesus. I was only a few days shy of seven years old. But I remember it like it was yesterday.

 

There was the moment I was prayed over by a youth minister who knew as much as I did that I was called to do something bigger than myself. A moment where I did not know the logistics of what God had for me but that my life was meant for ministering to others.  That my sensitive heart was made for loving.

 

There was the moment I stood in front of friends and family, vowing before God to love my husband, to follow him, and to stick by his side through the hardest and best of times.  In that moment, I understood God's intense love for me.

 

There was that moment that confusion set in, and as I cried, God simply held me.  I felt His presence, and without me uttering a single word, He knew my heart.

 

And then there was the moment where I ran to His alter, and I wept.  Uncontrollably.  And although the mascara ran down my face, it was beautiful.  The Spirit of God washed over me like I have never in my life experienced, and I knew in that moment that things were changing.  That the chains were breaking, and that it was time to lay it down.  To lay down the hurt, to lay down the expectations, to lay down the guilt, and to let myself fall into His arms. 

 

 

It's those moments that shape us, and change us.  And as we reflect on them, we are reminded of how powerful and majestic and beautiful the love of our Savior is. When you are feeling like God isn't there or things are just too hard, just remember that it only takes a single moment for God to step in, and completely rock your world.

 

 

Love and Blessings,

A New Year...

I have been pondering for days about what I would write in this blog. I have not written in months--and to be honest--didn't want to. I am ready to get back at it--and much more often now that I have plenty of free time. Much has happened in the last month in the Raney household. So much and so quickly that I don't even know if everything has had a chance to sink in. I can't even fathom how the Lord orchestrated everything. I am just thankful. David graduated from Physical Therapy school in December. It was such a sweet moment--it was like an end to a really hard couple of years, and a chance at a new start. The Lord answered something I had been praying for and longing for the whole time hubby was in school--that we would be able to move "home" where our family is. David was blessed with an amazing job and we are finally back amongst friends and family and so thrilled to be back with our church family. I wish I could express in words how blessed we feel right now. How amazing it feels to let God do all the work--and plot out the path He has for us. To feel like our hearts and desires are in sync with the Lord's will. So, although 2011 was an incredibly rough year we ended it on such a hopeful note. I am incredibly excited about 2012! And just a side note--maybe someone just really needs to hear this today--but when you are going through a storm, hold tight because God is still working through it. There is hope and sunshine at the end of the storm. It is a lesson that I continue to learn over and over in life. God is good. Period. Be blessed, friends! Jenn