I am more loved than I could ever dream

Ahhhh (sigh of delight), the end of my favorite week at DTS is here and I have so much to reflect on. I must say God is so thoughtful because on my birthday week, He lavished me with love and when I thought I couldn’t be more loved, well He loved me some more and some more and topped it off with an extra dollop of His benevolent kindness! My heart is so full! Driving home last night from a day at my favorite place in Ky (red river gorge), I was snuggling with my sweet sisters in the backseat, so exhausted but my mind was racing, praising God for all the thoughtful ways He displayed His loving heart to me this week. When I say my mind was racing, I mean I would remember something He did and before I could complete that memory another would pop in my head. I literally told myself, “be still” Hilary, you have the whole ride home to reflect. I just laid there and while all my friends thought I was asleep I was really just recounting God’s goodness. The clouds were huge all day long which hid the sun for the majority of our hike but God used those clouds to send me a beautiful, pink, red, orange and yellow masterpiece as the sun went down. That is what I learned this week; that God does not cause the horrible circumstances to happen in our lives. In fact, He would wrap us in bubble-wrap if that meant He could protect us from all trouble. However, He loves us too much to control us so He hinders Himself in order to give us our own free will to make decisions that will have consequences. If the consequences are bad He uses them for our good. (Romans 8:28) Sometimes we choose to sin and it not only effects our lives but also the lives of others. Sin was not in God’s plan from the beginning. Man chose to sin and ever since then God has been in the business of redeeming and restoring His people to Himself.