Intimacy with God – Part 2

If you missed, Part 1 with Intimacy with God – start here!

It’s Kay Wyma here again and part of Courtney’s hope for this year – is that we would tap into the mentors around us – and share their wisdom with all of you. And through this series, we’d each be encouraged to begin or nurture those relationships in our own lives.

I’m a big believer in seeking out wisdom from those who have traveled the road ahead of us – but also from those traveling alongside and behind us. So here are a few tidbits from someone in each of those areas of my life:

Ahead: Gail Schoellkopf

I met Gail when I was in my early 20’s. My brave friend Alex was convicted/compelled to fire up a mentor relationship – so she asked (first step: ask J) sweet Gail if she would mentor her. When Gail said yes (shock to us all – I mean it was Gail!), Alex was nice enough to invite a few friends along for the ride – which looking back was brilliant.

And thus began a relationship that still exists today. We started by simply meeting each week (which has changed through the years) and reading the Bible together. Gail would share her valuable (to us) insight, and we prayed. Since Gail was/is in leadership at BSF, we basically read the passages being studied there so she wouldn’t have too much on her plate.

There was such power in simply reading Scripture aloud together and discussing ways it informs our lives.

Gail taught us/exemplified for us how to trust and to lean on the Lord’s will in every situation, no matter what it is or how long it might last. (She speaks from experience: Her husband Hugo, the love of her life and father of their two young boys, was killed in a plane crash early on in their marriage.)

Gail always humbly prayed for clarity. That the Lord would make clear the steps she should take. Then she would pray for the strength and courage to take the steps.

She exemplifies the words she has said to us over and over and over – when things were happy or in times of despair/pain/longing: “The only thing I know to be always true: God is good.”

Clarity. 

Strength/courage to step. 

God is good – always.

 

Alongside: Jennifer Clouse

My friend and Bible study compatriot

Musings on the relationship of faith and feelings:

What God wants is my feelings AND my faith.

The reason I think He wants my feelings is because He wants to know me.  As I’ve known different people there are some folks that are heavy feelings-driven and that means their walk with Christ can be kind of an emotional roller coaster. Their relationship with the Lord is going as well or as poorly as their emotions indicate.  Or, there are people like me that think that feelings are not part of our relationship with God.  We think, ‘He’s got this.’  And that is true.  But that’s not the whole story. The result for me was a lack of intimacy with the Lord.  

I think if I have faith without feelings, I have great trust but I don’t have intimacy.  And if I have feelings without faith, then I may think I have a close relationship with God, but I might struggle with fear and anxiety because my feelings aren’t anchored to my faith in Him.  If you’re bent towards faith you might lack the sweetness of intimacy.  But if you’re dependent on your feelings, you’ll be tossed to and fro because our feelings are so fickle, and you might not enjoy the stability and steadfastness of leaning into faith.

 You can here more about Jen on this episode of God Centered Mom.

Behind: Lucy Wyma

One of my five kids that are always teaching me something [This one is constantly surprising me with lovely Scripture reminders, usually on her car dashboard – I think I learn more from her than anything she’s getting from me.]

Musings on sharing God’s truth.

I was sitting beside M at dinner [an expressed atheist friend] and I really respect her beliefs, but she was kind of down. I wanted know how much she is loved. I just can’t imagine her not spending eternity with God – and I hate that she might not know how much God loves her right now. 

So I started to tell her, “M. You have so much to offer, so much worth. Don’t let the pressures of grades or trying to please people or trying to fit make you think anything negative about yourself because God created you for a purpose and He loves you. He loves you so much, he sacrificed everything for you – just so you could know the kind of love that’s unconditional. You don’t have to prove anything or do something to get it. He simply loves you …”

Then I started crying – I really did! – and told her that more than anything, I hoped that someday she could understand God’s love for her, that it’s the biggest and the best thing ever.

And the weirdest thing – as I was trying to tell her how much God loves her, I was hearing it too. And I started to understand – God created me for a purpose and He loves ME that way too. I almost couldn’t believe it.

I wonder if that’s why God encourages us to share. As much, or maybe even more, for us to hear and be reminded – as it is for the person we’re telling. 

What do you think?

I think I’m grateful that we never need travel this road alone.

And how wonderful the Lord gives us folks puts next to us people alongside, ahead and behind – all that we might know Him in deeper ways as we share together what we’ve learned and are learning.