By most human measurements, I have a small life. I have no husband or children and my days are quiet. I have a small, lovely life. But when I began to contemplate this past year of my life, a surprising word popped into my head: expansive.
Strangest thing in the world! The more I settle into the life He’s given me, the more I receive the responsibilities He’s assigned to me, the more I thank Him for the limitations He’s bound me with, the bigger and wider and deeper my world with Him gets. My life is so rich and full that I can’t even remember the last time I was bored! And it’s all Christ.
I talked to my brother over the holidays, and he asked me how things were going. I told him that I was right where I was supposed to be. And he asked me, “How do you know you’re where you’re supposed to be?” And where once that question would have flummoxed me, it was so easy for me to answer. “All my life, I had one foot out the door. I was always restless, constantly searching for that something that I could be passionate about – that something that would give my life meaning. For the first time in my life I have peace. I’m content.” And that peace and contentment comes from knowing that I am loved, and knowing that I love – without reservation.
Being loved by God and loving Him right back is my life purpose. Anything and everything that I do or say or experience for the rest of my life is just the byproduct of how much I’m loved and Who I love.
And somehow, that expands my small, quiet life well beyond its evident reality. I’ve learned what it feels like to be truly still, every thought captive and quiet. I’ve heard the wind chuckle as it makes trees bow and clouds scatter. I’ve felt the warm weight of night settle comfortably around me when I look up at His starry sky. I meet my Father, my Lord, my Comforter every day, everywhere I go.
My life may be small, but my God is huge, and I can’t wait to meet Him every day in the new year.
