Covered in gratitude

    Have you ever been thanked by the Lord? If so, what was the context? Do you know why? I remember the first time that I felt God say "thank you" for a small thing, just for hanging out with Him during an afternoon. When I first heard it I thought I heard wrong. When I asked, "Did you really just thank me?" He responded by saying, "Did you expect to be the only thankful person in this relationship?". That was an afternoon of laughter for me, and I still remember the joy I felt at being thanked by the Father. Like how does a God that big, that capable, resourceful, infinite then turn around and thank me for something so small? What a humbling experience. 

    Then I had an experience earlier last year where I purposefully said "thank you Abba" in my heart, over and over, as often as I could. I had the desire to make my "prayer without ceasing" to be so covered in gratitude that the portions and requests would be far overshadowed by the thankfulness that Abba deserves. Not only that, but I wanted to be as grateful as possible. Today I still notice and see that my prayers are always marked with gratitude. The content of what I am grateful for, though still based in God and Him just being Him, has changed over the past year. I know that I was grateful for my spirit then, and the ministry He was doing to me personally to strengthen and nurture the part of me that comes directly from His essence. Today I am grateful that He is ministering to my emotions and my heart. One thing that I have remarked on is the generosity of the Lord. 

    To say that my God has been generous beyond all expectations this season is far understating what He has accomplished and given out of His careful hands, which have planned every work from the beginning of the foundation of the world. Earlier this past September we had the opportunity to have a school to teach people about the prophetic. From the first week, there was a student who had caught my eye, and though then she showed up in my blog posts just because of the interactions we had together, I had no foreknowledge of what generosity God had stored up. Several weeks into the school she shared a testimony of being completely healed of endometriosis, an illness that would leave her bedridden and would only be able to be treated through hormone treatments, and through pain medicines. 

    As I continued to get to know Evelinn I took notice of her humility and devotion to Jesus. There, a desire was born to continue to get to know her, and as the school went on, we had the opportunity to do just that. Soon after the school finished, I decided that I wanted to act on the desire on another level, and asked her if she would like to be my girlfriend. She said "yes". Since then we have continued to cultivate a long-distance relationship, and one of the things that mark this relationship is gratitude. I am continuously in awe of the generosity of God to allow this wonderful human into my life at such a level that we can grow in love, and humility, toward a God whom we can also learn to share. Though Jesus shares himself with everyone, not everyone can share intimacy on that same level. 

    Today I gawk at what God has done in her life, and what He has restored and I find myself in awe more often than not, and I celebrate with Him what He has accomplished in both of our lives with, and through each other. This next weekend I go to visit her and her parents in Luxembourg again, and am excited to get to share time in person again. However, as in all things, being covered in gratitude implies that I am content and grateful for what God has given me, and He has given us all we need. 

    For now, I am covered in gratitude to have her in my life, and am excited to continue to grow with her.