LOVE Wins.

GIRLFRIENDS! So..so important aren't they? A couple weeks ago my life was beginning to feel a bit dry, dull and disappointing. I needed to pull out of my rut and start a new groove. The great news was it was the beginnings of the Holiday Season and with that comes Craft Show Weekends. Well, wasn't this the perfect opportunity for fun with friends? 

So first thing Saturday morning what did we do? A group of us packed ourselves like sardines into a van together and hit the road. We were armed and ready to enjoy the local HOLIDAY Pizzazz.

It wasn't long before we were laughing our heads off. This group of girls always gets me giggling - okay no one close to me would call me a giggler really. I am more of the LAUGH OUT LOUD start to snort kind of girl. Once I start it is hard to get me to stop. I find laughter so stinkin' contagious. Oh this was just what I needed to lighten my heart and mind. 

As we approached the doors of the MEGA Craft show in our neck of the woods I began to feel a bit overwhelmed. It was SO crowded - there would barely be any opportunity for girl chat while we tried to maneuver through the herds of people. I really had not chosen to spend my day shopping as much as hangin' with the girls. This was proving to be a challenge on my state of mind.

About half way through I was D O N E. I could see what I thought should be the finish line ahead and I wanted out of this rat race. SOMEBODY get me FRESH AIR!!!!

Well as life would have it my friends were not anywhere near the finish line. They couldn't even see the finish line from where they stood. So onward we went. Even deeper into the mayhem. After about another hour of meandering there was only one room left in the VERY back of the building. Oh for certain they would want to skip this one. Everyone knows they would be sure to stick the pot pourri booths in the Back 40. I am almost sure my cranky face was on, my head was pounding. I was not IN THE MOOD any longer! Enough was enough and I was leaving. Or so I thought...NOPE!

Boy these girls were determined to take in EVERY SINGLE sight there was to be seen, every sniff there was to smell within the walls of the building. So into the final room we strolled. 

As we approached the very back of the room I would find the real TREASURE God had in store for me to discover. A lesson to be learned. A dear friend manning her booth. 

As we began to catch up there was some awkwardness in the air. You see we had a mutual friend we had both lost contact with. Neither of us knew the exact details of her disappearance from our lives. She had faced hardship and the enemy came in and stole her faith from her. Along with the enemy taking her love for God away, he also took away her desire to spend time with us. Perhaps because we represented all she had lost faith in. I know as we stood there chatting our hearts were reminded of the pain of losing someone you love dearly. As we continued to discuss the good and bad of life I looked up above her booth on the wall. HUGE LETTERS read "LOVE WINS".

It was the perfect picture. I wish I could have snapped a quick pic of her sitting beneath the lettering. What an AWESOME reminder that no matter what challenges we face, losses we experience, suffering we endure, battles we must fight... LOVE WINS! 

I will never forget this image in my mind. In this very moment God burned it on my heart and filled me with a passion for 

HIS LOVE. 

My entire journey of the day came down to this one single interaction where God would OPEN my eyes to what on earth I am doing here. And by that I mean WHAT on earth am I doing HERE...on this EARTH? I am here to LOVE. I am here to love despite how I feel. When circumstances leave me feeling less than effective - less than kind - less than loving. When I am feeling what is fighting against me is winning in the moment. I must remember... LOVE WINS!!!

What a BEAUTIFUL way to finally reach the FINISH LINE!

Isn't that just like God?

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.  -Romans 8:31-39 The Message

-Simply Sublime