God’s crazy about us. If you’ve been reading my blog lately, you’d know that God has me riveted to this theme. God’s exuberance is uncontainable.

Recently I stumbled upon this quote by Henri Nouwen,

God does not require a pure heart before embracing us. Even if we
return only because following our desires has failed to bring happiness,
God will take us back . . .  “Come,” God says, “let me wipe your tears,
and let my mouth come close to your ear and say to you, ‘I love you.
I love you. I love you.'”

God went on to illustrate these words. My family was already seated at church one Sunday when I came into the sanctuary. As soon as my granddaughter, Hannah, saw me, she lit up. She patted the empty chair beside her. When I sat there, she wrapped her arms around me and snuggled up. A friend saw the whole thing and said to me, “That was God, you know, welcoming you.” There were tears in her eyes when she said it.  

The next day another friend told me that God spoke to her through a verse in Isaiah. Long ago she had heard God say, My delight is in you. For years she marvelled at the fact that God lights up whenever he sees her.

“But today,” she went on to say, “when I remembered those words, I heard something different. This time I heard, My delight is in you. Like a treasure hidden inside us.” 

Soon afterwards I heard a priest talk about how to discern God’s voice. Father Richard said, “If you hear the thought I love you, it’s God. If you hear I forgive you, it’s God. And if you hear I love you again, it’s God telling you again, because he likes to tell us often and he knows we didn’t believe him the first time.”

Everywhere we go birds are singing and flowers are whispering a message from our creator: I love  you. I love you. I love you.

You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
    and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her . . . 
for the Lord delights in you . . .
   -Isaiah 62:4 (NRSV)

Credits:
“God” by Casey Brown. Used with permission.
“Heart” by tonx. Used with permission.
“Flowers” by Riccardo Cuppini. Used with permission.
Quote by Henri Nouwen from Show Me the Way: Daily Lenten Readings

© Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim, 2014.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without permission from Esther Hizsa is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used provided there is a link to the original content and credit is given as follows: © Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim 2013, 2014  http://www.estherhizsa.wordpress.com.