Happy Valentine's Day!
I woke at 8:30 this morning (we didn't have our first class!) and before I knew it a certain sweet
I walked downstairs and saw this:
Oh, the advantages of my garage having the same key as my brother and sister-in-law's house! ;-)
My brother is out of town but my sweet SIL snuck in and laid out an abundant Valentine's Day spread on my counter. She made red velvet cookies with white chocolate chips, and Keller (their lab) wrote Mims a little note on the card. My sweet brother thought ahead (he left town Sunday for a week-long rotation) and had another card for me and a pedicure gift certificate! He's always been really good at writing cards but I believe he topped them all this year. It said this:
I hope today is full of contentment in the present and excitement for the future!
That is what today was about for me. And that is why it was so good! My brother's hope for my February 14, 2013 was being fulfilled before I read that note and continued throughout the day because of that sweet reminder that hit the nail on the head.
I have keenly felt the Father's abundant love for me today. I'm reading Leviticus right now (sludging through it) and have been keenly reminded of how incapable of good I am and how far I should be separated from the Father's goodness. The tediousness of the acts of sacrifice carried out by Aaron and the wrath of the Lord when the law was not followed regarding propitiation of sins continues to astound me. I have no idea the seriousness of the sin in my life, nor how the Father despises it. But he loved me enough to send his Son to live on this Earth perfectly and then bear the consequences of the sin of all humanity on the cross, ultimately conquering sin and death when he rose again on the 3rd day. Because I have acknowledged my need of a Savior and asked Christ to come into my life, what God sees now when he looks at me is not the sin that makes him burn with anger but the Son that He loves dearly and has sweet communion with. Though my sin is still present and dangerous, I am washed in the blood of Christ and the Father delights in showing me his goodness. The stark contrast of His righteous, burning hatred of sin and His good and beautiful love for his children is what makes the Gospel so wonderful to me.
With a Savior who has pulled me from the grips of darkness and evil, brought me into the light of Salvation, and continues to fight daily for me by pushing back the darkness that surrounds--how can I not feel abundantly loved? How can I feel lacking? I feel wonderfully surrounded by the Father's love for me!
