Changing perspectives

Today- I’m thinking about the nature of God. See, a little over a year ago, I had encounters with God that changed not only my relationship with God but also how I see God.

Religion in the 80’s

Growing up it was really hard not to form an image of God- as a punisher from stories in the Bible, as a judge… as someone who even more than Santa Claus can see all that you do and (gasp) all that you think and somehow I always seemed to come up lacking… never quite enough for someone who has does everything for us.

In time, I developed a relationship where I would fear God but didn’t really realize it. That’s more of what my faith was based on with a few answered prayers thrown in to keep me going.

Today; I feel sad for that young believer inside me who didn’t know what I didn’t know. I didn’t know that God has this intense love for us and craves our time… who stands in awe at how gorgeous and delightful each of us truly are to Him.

It was through this time of discovering who I am that I was able to uncover the truth of who God is! What? What do you mean uncover the truth? I think I developed an image of God that didn’t really allow for the intimacy. Now, I’ve been a Christian for most of my 49 years and there have been many times I was close to God…. but few times I had the intimacy with Him I didn’t know I craved.

The photo of this tree (I don’t know what kind of tree it is called) in my yard shows a different perspective of the tree when the sun is shining on it. A sunrise greeted me and I loved the view so much I snagged a quick pic as I headed out the door for work in the middle of the Coronavirus stay at home. To me, the colors on the tree were like a promise or a rainbow. They lit up the tree! Having a different perspective can change everything…

Laughing and sharing secrets and listening to each other are examples of the ways I am bonding with God like never before. There’s a freedom there where I know I’m safe… and it feels really good!

How do you feel you view God and your relationship with Him? Do you enjoy spending time with him? What are your favorite ways of spending time with Him?