Today's Devotional Thought
February 22, 2012 by Rachel Piferi
Remembering God's Gifts
Every now and then God stops me in my tracks and just floods me with a reminder of his overwhelming love and faithfulness. Oh how I wish I had a way to fully describe how amazingly in awe of God I am and how he has worked in my life and shown his love for me. And honestly, when I have these moments of focusing on the ways he has shown his love to me, it is way too much for my body to take and it usually results in me crying out of sheer overflowing recognition of his hand in my life.
This happened last night.
On Tuesday nights and Thursday mornings, Wendy and I lead Bible Study together at our church. And I have to say, I just love these sessions with the dear ladies from our church. I love preparing for them. I love meeting with Wendy about how we are going to lead them. I love praying over each session and seeing where God takes our discussions. I just love everything about these sessions and seeing what God has for our group each week. Little did I know, God had something very powerful for me in last night's session. Something I had not even planned on talking about.
In last night's session, our group's conversation began to focus on Wendy's and my friendship. And before we knew it, Wendy and I were sharing our history and how God created our friendship and ministry. And as I was telling our story, I became so overwhelmed {again} with the beautiful gift of friendship that God has given me in Wendy. As we talked about the formation of our friendship and the many transitions and trials that she and I have walked through together, I was simply overwhelmed. God has not just given me a friend, he has given me a prayer partner, an accountability partner, a confidante, and a ministry partner all within the package of a best friend. And as I reflect on it, I am amazed at how much God must love me to gift me in this way.
Love. Trust. Grace. Accountability. Forgiveness. Growth. Those are just a few of the things that I have intimately experienced because of Wendy's friendship. Oh how I wish I could find the words to describe to you how much I cherish her and how special our bond is. By inviting me into her story, God has worked mightily in my own story and our sisterhood has changed my life. God has used her in my life in ways that are indescribable and he has created something that is simply precious beyond words.
And the best part is that God is using our friendship as a partnership in ministry. To think that God created our friendship for us to enjoy and get encouragement & strength from as well as to use it to tell others about him...well, it simply blows my mind. Because friends, there is nothing better than growing in and serving the Lord with your best friend. Nothing at all.
I love when God reminds us of the gifts he has given us. While I do thank the Lord each day for my sweet friendship with Wendy, I was powerfully reminded last night of the gift that she really is. By giving me the opportunity to share it with others in Bible Study last night, I heard God whisper to me, "That's how much I love you. I gave you a precious sisterhood to journey through life and serve me with."
Oh what a gift her friendship is. Oh how much he must love me.
I love when God reminds me of the love he has for me. And beloved friends, he loves you that much too. He has blessed each one of us in so many different ways. Maybe it is a precious friendship. Maybe it is your marriage. Maybe it is your children or your health. Maybe it is your job or a calling that you are fulfilling. In big and small ways, God blesses us just to remind us that he loves us.
I have many things to be thankful for and I am so grateful that God takes the time to remind me his love by reminding me of his gifts. Take time today to reflect on these gifts of his love and bask in his love for you today.
December