{may.6.}

May 6.

Last night Aaron and I went to the Drive-In in Lexington to see the Hunger Games. It was my first trip to the Drive-In so I was extra excited to go. I was a little worried that the movie would get rained out because it was dark and gloomy when we left Waynesboro. It started dumping buckets of water on us before we even made it out of town. But the drive-in Facebook page said "rain or shine, the show must go on" so we headed on down the road. 

As we drove, the sky started changing with each mile that we traveled. 

    

Fortunately, by the time we made it to Lexington, the sky had cleared up, the show did in fact go on, and the Hunger Games was just as good the second time as it was the first time {at midnight}. 

The sky is a constant reminder to me of how beautiful God is and how much he adores us. 

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. 

He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, 

he will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17

For me, Saturday's sky was a picture of God taking delight in me and rejoicing over me with singing. It was beautiful, and yet I am painfully aware that I do not deserve that singing. 

This morning in church, we confessed our sin corporately with this prayer:

God, our Creator, you made us to bring you glory and to bear your holy image. 

Forgive us for serving ourselves and ruining your world. 

Jesus, our Redeemer, you saved us and bought us at the price of your own blood. 

Forgive us for looking for salvation and worth in ways that are detached from you.

Holy Spirit, our Comforter, you remade us as a foretaste of everything that will one day be new. 

Forgive us for running back to our old patterns of sin and for failing to bring blessing to the brokenness around us. 

The prayer struck me and resonated within me. But thankfully it didn't end there... as a family, we then stated the truth that we are pardoned, forgiven, redeemed:

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit... 

The Lord redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him." 

Psalm 34:18, 22

Comforting, huh? Here is another pretty incredible promise God has made to us:

"I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, 

for my anger has turned away from them."

Hosea 14:4

Freely loved, 

B