{"id":1421,"date":"2016-10-21T19:43:25","date_gmt":"2016-10-22T00:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/?p=1421"},"modified":"2019-05-17T15:09:14","modified_gmt":"2019-05-17T20:09:14","slug":"gently","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/2016\/10\/21\/gently\/","title":{"rendered":"Gently"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Lydia Floren<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been avoiding God again. Well, to be honest, I\u2019ve mostly been avoiding myself – what I might find when I slow down and get still enough to pay attention. Frankly, I don\u2019t want to see the failure. The raw need. The fear. I skirt the edges of these feelings, afraid that, if I face them head on, I will get lost in depression and discouragement.<\/p>\n

So, I stay busy. And keep God at arm\u2019s length. But this is not a good long term plan. God is with me, within me, gently calling my name, ready to hear my concerns. I can\u2019t ignore Him. And I miss Him.<\/p>\n

So here I am, in the middle of the night, jolted awake by a bad dream. I reach for His comforting presence, before I remember not to. His kindness is startling. Gently He soothes. Embraces. Lifts away my burdens. Gently, He heals past wounds, still raw, gives insight into my pain, and offers perspective – on present events, and past ones.<\/p>\n

Gently, He shares truth where I see lies. Gently, He reminds me that He is 100% good, and that I am 100% safe: nothing and no one can touch my identity, value, belonging and calling.<\/p>\n

God meets me where I am. And ever so gently, ever so faithfully, He leads me out of my mess, and back into His joy.<\/p>\n

\"He<\/a><\/p>\n

\"You<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Lydia Floren I\u2019ve been avoiding God again. Well, to be honest, I\u2019ve mostly been avoiding myself – what I might find when I slow down and get still enough to pay attention. Frankly, I don\u2019t want to see the failure. The raw need. The fear. I skirt the edges of these feelings, afraid that, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[453,465],"tags":[134,70,17,53],"class_list":["post-1421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anxiety-depression","category-finding-freedom","tag-anxiety","tag-know-what-is-true","tag-reminders","tag-trust-in-god"],"yoast_head":"\nGently - Lydia Floren @ Belovedlove<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I\u2019ve been avoiding God again. 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