I don’t hear God often. I feel His presence almost all the time, and I connect with Him through praying and reading the Bible, but in my 20 year relationship with Him, I’ve audibly heard His voice only a handful of times. So when I do, it’s life changing. It rewires my heart, creating new pathways for me to seek God and know His plan.
It was 2 years ago. I was in the Middle East, sitting on a giant rock that jutted out into the sea. And in that moment He spoke my identity over me. Identity is a funny thing. It’s something we can spend our whole lives searching for or building. Even when literally passed down from Heaven it can take a lifetime to unravel and understand. It was a brief sentence, a question really. I heard the voice of the Father, full of love, but with a heart breaking for His child who was so lost and confused and didn’t even know it. He said, “Lizzy, I created to you to feel deeply and love recklessly, when did you become so jaded and cynical?” Ouch. It’s a moment and a feeling I’m not likely to forget. In that moment I felt more loved, but more repentant than I ever had before.
I’ve spent the past 2 years unraveling that question. I’ve come back to it time and time again. Feel deeply. Love recklessly. Feel deeply. Love recklessly. In many ways it’s the only calling I know. It’s led to my passion for justice and heart for my community. The phrases echo through my soul over and over again, and each time I feel the weight of them in a new way.
Love recklessly.
Arms and heart wide open. Unashamed of feeling more and unafraid of rejection.
Love abundantly and excessively, like you’ll never run out, because your source is eternal Love Himself.
Committed and overwhelming. Loving people before they’ve earned it and long after they’ve given up trying to earn it.
Love without agenda. Love without walls or armor. Without fear or safety-nets.
It’s a messy and counter-cultural love that’s often viewed as foolish or naïve.
Oh, God, may I never stop loving this way.
Storytime With Lizzy 