[ as the years roll by... ]

Lately I've been praying and thinking a lot about what it means for God to restore joy in our lives -- not just fleeting moments of happiness, but authentic joy in Him, as we leave behind our fears and begin to approach Him with newfound confidence, knowing He has the very best and firmest grip on each and every sphere of our lives. What, really, does this mean?

A few words I've been thinking about lately in relation to God's restoration of joy in our lives: alive and complete.

Think about the last time you were in the presence of someone who really allowed others to come alive in their presence -- who pushed new and old friends to share their passions and questions and doubts without the risk of rejection, but with clear assurance of complete acceptance. Our friend Sharon, who graduated a few years ago from Muskingum, is one of these people. She pours out His energy and passion to everyone; it's beautiful.

When we take time to really listen and respond to those around us, we're able to care for them and invite them to experience the life God has intended for them. This past semester or so, God's been accomplishing some big-time repair work in my heart, challenging me to listen before speaking and to ask questions. It's not often enough that we stop talking, block out the noise around us, look one another in the eye and really listen.

Jesus' presence and the Spirit's active intercession will be the only driving factor to make anything like this happen.

Complete. We read the fourth chapter of 1 John tonight at Life Group. The four of us were struck (again and again) by this:

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:11-12)

We shared for awhile about the challenges we face in understanding this on a daily basis. (Young women and new friends sharing their hearts is a big, important thing -- whoa.)

Anyway, I talked for a bit about how those few words -- made complete -- always seem to lift up off the pages as if I had 3-D glasses on or something like that. There's activity there; there's a necessary beginning to the continual transformation that God has in mind for our lives -- His business of His glory -- His process of molding us to be more and more like Jesus. Paul's words in Colossians 3:10 about our new selves being renewed in knowledge in the image of [our] Creator are especially poignant.

You know, I can eliminate all the noise and set up my schedule to spend time with others; I can learn to listen to others and ask good questions, but without full-fledged, uninhibited surrender to Him and the reality of needing to wholly depend on Him, I am nothing.

Any source of authentic, complete life is not rooted in or dependent upon this flesh. For that, I am grateful.


May you be fully restored by God, continually awakened to His beauty and activity all around you.

Love you all.

Jessie