overcome with emotion

Monday, August 9, 2010 (7:01 a.m.)

Blessed Lord,

How is it that I am even the least bit surprised here? I tossed. I turned. I fretted. I feared. My mind wandered. And worried much of the night. Yet here it is. Joy came in the morning just as Your Word (Psalm 30:5) promises. Why is it that I am so amazed?

Sunday, August 15, 2010 (9:33 a.m.)

Why indeed Lord? Here You are this magnificent, wonderful, holy God and far too often I have tended to think of myself as ‘all that AND a bag of chips’. Thank You Lord that You constantly remind me that it is You alone who is holy!

Returning home from a trip to Northern Alabama I find myself still profoundly emotional over it all. All the excitement I felt during the planning of our first visit to Gorham’s Bluff in no way prepared me for the intensity I am still feeling.

Lord, You are amazing. The things You created are far too incredible for me to even begin to put into words. I feel embarrassed of how often I have thought that I knew so much about so many things only to be caught short by how little I truly know concerning most things.

Even in my disjointed attempts to express myself to You here this morning Lord, I find myself repeatedly overcome with emotion. And for this I thank You Lord.

Genesis 43:30 and 2Samuel 18:33 both deal with brokenness, the need of dependence on You and forgiveness. Both Joseph and King David were ‘overcome with emotion’ because events of their pasts were affecting their present.

Lord, I don’t know what direction the tugging You are doing deep within me is supposed to lead me. I do ask that You would continue preparing me for whatever it is that You would have me do. If there are amends You would have me make, I ask that You would lay the groundwork. You know that I tend to jump headlong into things I think might be from You only to find out later that I was acting on pure emotion.

Lord, I look at the retelling of the events of these two men, both of whom were overcome with emotion and retreated to their rooms to cry. I am grateful that You saw fit to include times of sorrow in Your Word, as well as times of joy. The contrasts between mourning and celebrating remind us of the importance of repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation. Lord, thank You for loving us so much that You would show us not only the successes but the foibles of those who have gone before us.

I look to You Dearest Lord to overcome my emotions with Your goodness, mercy and grace. As I ease back into this time of being home, I ask You to hold me close as You prepare me for the even bigger changes that are to come.

I love You so much Dear Lord and I long to walk with You along this path of cavernous emotion, undeterred by the momentary lapses of profoundly deep, unexpected tears. You are good Lord. You are holy and I am willing to go unquestioningly with You into this present time of being completely overcome with emotion.

Thank You for being everything You are and creating all that You did. I love You. Amen.

(564 words ~ 12:27 p.m.)