“…and to know this love that surpasses knowledge -that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:19

I have spent the past three days increasing my knowledge of the Bible. Our church has a great partnership with a local seminary and they host classes at our church. It was a class that walked through the entire Bible, presenting the grand story of our God. What I can tell you after this class is I love God now more than I did before it started. It was remarkable to see His His love on display. It was also a prayer I have been praying for awhile now that my love for Him increases and my heart has expanded in love for Him.

It reminded me of when I met my husband and getting to know each other was so exciting. We could not spend enough time together and living in different states made that a bit of a challenge. Thankfully, that distance gap closed when I got a job here and moved. Looking back at that move still shocks me. I lived alone for the first time ever, in a new city and with only knowing a few people. Funny how this city is now our home and I cannot imagine living anywhere else. It also amazes me the courage that came with knowing this was part of God’s plan for me. I should not have even gotten the job, but I did. Now over 20 years later, looking back I am so thankful for His plan for me. I cannot deny His love, even in hard things. I also still love getting to know my husband too. He is easy to love.

Back to my class experience. One of the sweetest things happened even before the class began. I was about to walk in and I saw one of our pastors. Years ago I had emailed him because I was troubled with a few things in our church. He responded kindly, but my heart was arrogant. I later apologized in an email and sent encouragement a time or two, but there is something good about a face to face apology. I told him my name and what I had done. He looked at me and said some amazing words. He said he didn’t remember, but that in every criticism there is some truth. He told me it was forgotten and forgiven and to never mention it again. If I reminded him then he would remember and we weren’t doing that. A load lifted from my shoulders that I did not know was there. Forgiveness is a good thing to receive and to give.

I had only taken a few steps away from this conversation when I heard my name. A friend was there and then another one joined us. We were all so excited to learn and quickly found a seat. Even where we sat was a gift because I met some precious people. There was also one lady that sat behind me that would say softly some amazing words at times when the teacher was talking. I quoted her in the margin of my Bible because it impacted my heart. For three days I honestly felt saturated in love.

So how do we respond to love? You live loved in your everyday. You share the Good News, you pray for others, you smile, you offer help, you give your time, you encourage, you laugh, you spend time getting to know God and His Word. I pray we live loved well this week! And GO CHIEFS!!

*This picture was taken a few days ago at the rodeo. It also perfectly mirrors how I felt the past three days.