* One Yes at a Time Series*

This series explores the adventure of fulfilling our godly destiny and purpose, one yes at a time.

Faster Than a Speeding Snail

Miraculously, I leap from bed at 4:30am, before coffee touches my lips. This fulfills the Biblical truth: I can do all things through Christ Jesus, and confirms God is greater than caffeine. All kidding aside, most mornings, I sluggishly feel my way to the coffeepot before seeking Abba. However, today, my non-caffeinated self sprints toward my God. There isn’t a pressing personal issue, no urge to intercede for someone, nor a request from my Creator. My heart is overflowing with uncontainable gratitude and a zeal to proclaim his goodness. 

• Father, thank you for being approachable, merciful, loving, and tangible. Thanks for your life-changing interactions. Thank you for lifting me out of the muck and mire of my past. Thanks for the gift of repentance and for washing me clean. Thank you for not giving up on me when I lost my way. Thanks for adopting me, for loving me, despite all my missteps. Thanks for lighting the path forward. Your guidance and wisdom are priceless. Thank you for empowering me to fulfill Kingdom purposes. Thank you for giving your life, so that I may live. I hunger for the One to whom I give thanks. 

• BK, I am here, your Father, King, Provider, Healer, Protector, the I AM. What do you need my son?  

• I just want you Abba. Tears trickle down my cheeks as I literally feel your love hug my heart. Nothing is more soothing, healing, and comforting. Overwhelm me, my King. I praise you for healing my past, for comforting me in the present, and for preparing me for future adventures with you. Nothing on this earth compares to your glorious presence. This is where I desire to stay.

• BK, I go where you go. I’ve sent you into the world. I anoint your eyes to see, your ears to hear, and your tongue to proclaim the truth of who I am. I will teach you to write the things of Heaven, to unveil the mysteries of God, to set the captives free. In my name. By my power.  

• Thank you Lord. I receive your impartation and mentoring.  

• BK, love everyone. Above all else, love them. I will show you how.  

• Lord, I desire to be so connected to you that l walk in your anointing and love, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  

• BK, you ask a difficult thing, just as Elisha asked Elijah for a double portion.
  

• Lord, I know the difficulty is not on your end. Empower my body, soul, and spirit, all that I am, to be a never-ending vessel for you. You gave me the gift of my bride Donna, so I ask you to equip her as well.  

• BK, you ask an even more difficult thing ... for the unison of two imperfect people.

• Lord, I may not fully understand the consequences of what I have asked. Nevertheless, I relinquish all that I am and invite you to take over the life you have given me! No strings attached. Total surrender. 100% committed to you. How do I cooperate with you to make this "difficult thing" manifest on earth as it is in Heaven? 

At that moment, the words to the song, “This Love” by Housefires pierced my soul and reinforced God’s emphasis on, “Love everyone. Above all else, love them."

Years later, as I reread this journaled interaction, the following thoughts unfolded. Now, at age 69, the visual of me leaping out of bed and sprinting toward God ... well, let's just say ... it isn't the same visual as at the time of the journal entry. Thus, the title of this post, "Faster Than a Speeding Snail." That said, God pointed out, my request is not a simple thing. Obviously, it isn’t hard for him. I am an imperfect human, desiring for God’s love to overflow through me in every interaction. I can’t give away what I haven’t received. Therefore, I must receive his love without interruption. The challenge is to stay constantly connected to him, even when I am tired, hungry, in pain, and emotionally triggered by this broken world. I haven't lived up to my request without hiccups. Not even for one day, and definitely not for weeks, months, or years. Yet God has been merciful and faithful to help me grow. I’m quicker to recognize when I fall short and to embrace his correction. 

I used to get discouraged when I felt like I failed on the first, second, or third attempts. However, God showed me how to reframe my struggles with this revelation: “God wants to use our perceived failures to teach us, to invite us to something greater, and to springboard us forward.”

I may never fully achieve the “difficult thing” I requested. However, Abba never gives up on me as I learn to love his way. One yes at a time.

1 Corinthians 13:8 (NIV) states: “Love never fails.” That Scripture is true whether we impart God’s love at a snail’s pace or faster than a speeding bullet.