He Gives Generously

"Generously You give to the one who will ask

Seeing Your children in need You are quick to act

How firm a foundation the rock upon which we stand

Your goodness does not run dry when all else has passed

You give good gifts to Your children

You lavish Your love on Your Bride 

We shall not thirst and we shall not want

Generously You give, and You satisfy"

This has been a big theme for me lately. The generosity of the Lord.

Right now its pretty easy to see the ways that God is being generous in His care for me. I'm engaged to an incredible, Christ-centered man. I work for a ministry that I'm passionate about. I have some of the absolute best people for friends. Life is exciting and new and wonderful. And so it's easy for me rejoice. It's easy for me to see the goodness of the Lord in my every day life. 

But I do have a frame of reference for this joy. Four and a half years ago I was at a very different point in my life. There were a lot of dead ends. I didn't know myself very well. I was living in tiny-town Iowa, working part time, unsure of what I wanted to do with my life, moving in a different direction than a lot of my friends and lonely in a lot my decisions. I couldn't fathom how things might change. 

The years in between have been filled with a lot of opportunities for growth, both personally and spiritually. I have come to see my beauty, to recognize my goodness and to seek the Lord above all else. But I have also discovered the joy and reward in praising God when it is easy to see His generosity, AND when it is not so easy.

"Thank You, Lord, when You give

Praise You still when You take"

As I have come to know and love Christ more, I have been able to see His generosity in both the giving and the taking. Some of the greatest goods in my life have come through giving up something else. I have experienced some of my greatest joys when I give up my own plan or even my own desires and let God do His thing. 

The thing is, my life will not always be like this. I'll be the first one to point out that...this is about as exciting as I'm ever going to get :) Before too long (in 230 days, to be exact) I'll get married and then I'll settle back into the background of ordinary life. I'll have to learn how to live with my husband, love him when I'm in a bad mood, serve him when I feel like being selfish and die to myself in lots of really "boring" ordinary ways. And that will be my path to holiness. The funny thing is that I'm excited for all of these ordinary things.

And regardless of the whether my life is "ordinary" or not...things move in seasons. Right now is a season of joy and excitement and newness in my life. But there will be seasons of pain and struggle and loss. There will be seasons that seem stale or old or insignificant. There will be other seasons of joy, some probably far greater than this. But they will each have their turn.

Here's the thing. I use the phrase "I love my life!" and awful lot. Maybe too often :) But it is my prayer that I never stop saying that. Even if when things are harder. I don't want to lose this sense of wonder and awe at the generosity of the Lord. I want to continue to marvel at His goodness...when He gives and when He takes. I don't want to draw near to Christ only when its easy for me to see the ways He is lavishing His love on me. I want to be constant. "In good times and in bad, in sickness and in health". God never ceases in His goodness. I should never grow complacent in my gratitude.

"You give good gifts to Your children

You lavish Your love on Your Bride 

We shall not thirst and we shall not want

Generously You give, and You satisfy"

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,

Catherine