I find myself overwhelmed at the patient longing of God for my heart to be wholly His. Isaiah 30:18 says, “Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him.” This truth penetrates me, and I want it to take root and grow something worthy of Him. His heart is so good, and His intentions are so kind. According to Ephesians 1:5, “He predestined and lovingly planned for us to be adopted to Himself as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the kind intention and good pleasure of His will.”…

Yesterday we had a coming-of-age party for my niece, similar to a bat mitzvah in the Jewish tradition. It was a small family affair with some of the women in our family, and the ages ranged from nearly 80 to barely 3 months. Usually, at these kinds of events there’s an outpouring of learned wisdom and counsel for the young woman who is entering adulthood, but thanks to her older cousin who had planned the event we were encouraged, each one, to focus on her young person and relate to her those things about her character that we value and admire. She is a remarkable young woman with a true…

A witness tells what they have seen and heard. A good witness speaks from experience and knowledge. And a witness under oath gives testimony that is deemed worthy to be weighed in the balance of other evidence. “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He.” (Isaiah 43:10a NKJV) This verse tells us that the people of God are called to be His witnesses in the earth. We are to witness His good work, His power displayed, and His love in action. And our testimony is of Him, not of ourselves. So what are we witnessing in our…

My father’s father was a gardener. When I was very small, his garden was a good acre in size. He plowed, dug, buried seeds, watered and tended. I didn’t know then what an arduous and risky business gardening is. What I did know was the quiet joy he seemed to experience in the process of growing things. He grew so many things: corn, beans, peas, cucumbers, okra, tomatoes, watermelons, and a host of other delights that filled the pantries of family members and friends. I spent many an hour with a bowl in my lap shelling peas or shucking corn and many a hot Summer afternoon eating watermelon with my…