Decaf on the Terrace

The weekend of August 14 I took a personal retreat. My plan was open-ended. I just wanted to be away, by myself, and have God show up in a fresh, new way.

I’ve been on a journey with Jesus since I was 19 years old. (I just turned 43 so you do the math. I’ve gone through stages during these years. Some stages were about me falling in love with this Savior stranger. Some stages were me seeing the power spoken and written in his letters to me through the Bible. Some stages were silence – and me doubting his love. Some stages were brass bands marching through my soul – and me confidently knowing who He is.

Through every stage, there was always a lesson. And, with every lesson, there was a deeper understanding of this God I couldn’t contain in a box.

My weekend proved to be another revelation of who He is … and is not. For just a few hours, on the terrace of an upscale hotel in Budapest, I met God again. It wasn’t like our daily encounters. It was more like a brunch – on a lazy Saturday morning – with an easy agenda.

During the course of our lazy morning, I heard him speak softly about matters close to my heart … and felt the quite confidence that all was in His hands. I heard him speak softly about who I am … and am not. But most of all, I just heard … Him.

I was most astounded by the quietness of my soul among the morning activity that surrounded me. The biggest miracle I witnesses on that lazy Saturday was a fresh encounter of the living God, speaking directly to my heart. My smile was automatic. My tears that glided down my mineral powder make-up cheeks were authentic testimonies and acts of worship to a loving God. To the unconscious by passer, I sipped my deaf coffee and soaked in the warmth of the sun. Sure I sat in my deck chair. But in my spirit I was somewhere else … somewhere holy and inhabited by the presence of Almighty God.

It still astounds me … this God. He knows everything about me … and yet the longer I seem to know Him, the more I discover and uncover and unveil. His ways they are mysterious. His love toward me is always fresh.

My journey continues,
Christina