A Diamond---Some Day

      I've been blessed with exceptional mentors over the course of my Christian walk. My mentors always seemed so secure and so confident in their experience. I was sure they had reached a point where trials were easy when they came at all. Forty years later, I know how wrong I was. The older I've become, the deeper I find God digging through my life.

     C.S. Lewis wrote that as a child he had bad teeth. However, he refused to tell his mother when he had a toothache because he knew she would take him to the dentist. The problem Mr. Lewis had with dentists is that they are never happy just to fix the tooth that is hurting. Dentists all have a terrible habit of wanting to fix everything--even teeth that don't hurt. He went on to say that God is like dentists. You may seek God to deliver you from a painful situation. He will fix the hurt that brings us to Him, but be warned, He will not stop there.

     Jesus says, "If you love me, keep my commandments." If we truly love God, the Holy Spirit will use that love to work ever deeper into our life. We soon find "if you love me" invading places in our heart which we hoped to keep our private domain. God has a complete plan for sainthood that reaches down into our thoughts, our emotions, and our intentions. He even turns up in our imagination.

     Charlotte marvels at how quickly I fall asleep. My secret is bedtime stories. I have certain story lines in my imagination geared to sleep. Once my thoughts start down those lines, I fall asleep. They stories have changed over the years, but most had a martial theme. Lately, however, I've been aware of the Lord ordering changes in the stories so that the old standards no longer work.

     Is thinking about holding a hilltop against an enemy onslaught wrong? No, not in itself. But, if that hilltop is not where the Lord wants you to go--stay off it. "If you love me" is not just for what we consider "big" things. It is for every detail and every corner of our life. It is even for the stories we tell ourselves.

     If the Lord isn't working changes in your life, it's clear your not paying attention. Transformation through the renewing of your mind never takes a break. It's time we all look into how deep the love of God goes into our lives. Maybe, we need a new outlook on love. God's not dead and He's not on vacation. He's interested in every moment of your life.