Today has been so good. I woke up at 5:30 a.m. (thats right, super early), getting ready for the day. Carol picked Mom, Laura and I up at 6:30, and we headed to the airport. Gatwick really is not too far from here--especially with so little traffic that early on Sunday morning. Despite the early hour we all joked and told stories as we approached the terminal.
We had a good 2 hours before the plane would take off, and Carol graciously treated us all to coffee and pastries. Hmm...I love chocolate inside flaky croissants. White chocolate mochas aren't bad either--anyone see a theme?
Mom and Laura went through security with a little over an hour before their departure time, so we said our goodbyes. It was not too sad a parting because I will be home in about two weeks. Our time together here in England has been so very good. I loved every minute.
By the time I got back to the flat though, I was exhausted. The week's constant on-the-move pace finally caught up with me. I wanted a hot bath. Oh, forget the bath, I thought when I realized the water was not working in the flat, I'm going back to bed! And that is what I did! I crawled beneath my sheet and comforter and succumbed to the pull of sleep and dreams.
I woke up still tired, but ready to clean and eat. I had lunch, cleaned the kitchen a bit, and settled in with a novel. I read and read, not stopping until I finished. It was a pretty good novel, though the writing was better at the end than the beginning and middle. Hmm. I want the Scriptures. I need to hear God's Word. So I pulled up the internet and listened to John Piper expound on the first chapter of John. Jesus Christ--the Word who is God but was also with God. What a great and wonderful mystery.
More sleep followed, and then eating, cleaning, catching up with my dear friend Amber, and Adventures in Odyssey! My toe nails are now painted as the Union Jack flag, and my dish rack is full of cups, pots, and silverware. I wanted to record this moment because I am overwhelmed with how God has blessed me.
The novel I read reminded me of something I have been learning. Everyone is a sinner, and no one is above temptation. 1 Corinthians (10:12) is correct in warning those who think they stand...when you think you are not capable of doing something, sometimes you are more susceptible to it. As God told Cain in Genesis 4:7, sin is waiting at the door, and it desires to have us, to control us.
I always judged King David very harshly--how could a man who had walked with God, slain many of Israel's enemies, and danced before God, fall so hard? How could he commit adultery and then murder? It was so out of character. But that is the point, really. It isn't out of character for the "old man," the "flesh" to do the unthinkable. I turned my judgmental eye on myself and gasped. Had not I walked with God, and yet I also committed such horrors? (I will not list my sins for you, for now is neither the time nor the place, but with lust being equal with adultery, and hate being equal to murder, I am just as guilty as David...)
I was accosted by my sins and guilt. Still, God's Word came: "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" James 1:9. "'Come, let us reason together,' says the Lord, 'Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be white as snow...'" Isaiah. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved" John 3:17.
I am a new creature, but I must guard myself against sin. (Armor of God anyone?) God is so merciful, so gracious...how can we not love Him with all our being? How could I live as anything less than a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2)? God please help me to understand, and then live, Your Truth.
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