Three Phrases

     Although El Refugio is currently in its busiest season and I should probably be sharing about the day-to-day activities of the groups we are hosting.  I find myself wanting to share with you what God has been teaching me.  You may wonder why now?  A couple of reasons, first, really it has taken me this long to articulate what it is I wanted to share and second, I am afraid if I don’t get it written down, I will continue to lose sleep because I keep waking up with how best to express exactly the lessons I have learned.

     As with my grief journey, the next three posts will fall under a separate blog entry, which I will title “God’s Presence”.  And to be completely honest, as with my grief journey, I really write this down for my kids and grandkids to hear about what God is teaching me.  However, it is not just for them, it is for you as well.  My desire is for each of you to be encouraged in your walk with our Savior and draw closer to Him.

     This post will serve as an introduction for the three that will follow.  Over the last two years, there have been three phrases from God’s word that have served as a catalyst for lessons I believe God has wanted to teach me.  After a time of reflection I came to realize that all three were connected and the common denominator was the presence of God.  My desire is to demonstrate the presence of God in each of our lives by using these three phrases, “…we had hoped…” from Luke 24:21, "Who am I?...that you have brought me this far?” from 2 Samuel 7:18 and finally from John 11:21 "Lord, if you had been here…”

     Let’s begin the journey…