Random Question Part One: God Sought Me.....

Edie, from Rich Gifts asks this question: This one is huge so I will answer in two parts.

When did you seek Him with all your heart and what did finding Him look like?

I grew up in a Christian home. I went to Sunday school and church on Sundays and youth group on Sunday nights I sang in children's choirs, and the bell choir. I went to Kids Club, Logos, on Wednesday night and after I aged out, I helped with younger children. God was always a presence in my life. I studied the bible but only when lead to by a Sunday School teacher or youth group advisor. I did not feel confident enough to go at it alone. I prayed to God but mostly about things I needed, not for direction or about what God needed me to do.

My teenage years were a bit rocky. I wandered in the wilderness with no sense of direction and with no sense of whose I was..... God's child. I let myself, my parents, and most importantly my God down. Even down in the lowest pits of my life my God was still there. He was seeking me out. He was pulling me up out of the pit in my life....the pit I was in, due to my bad decisions. He loved me in my sin and imperfections and was showing me through people he placed in my life.

My husband and I were friends long before we ever dated. I think this was important for us, as it laid a trust foundation, on which later our love was built. I felt a lot of shame from my rocky teenage choices. I felt these were simply my burden to bear and would be on my shoulders for life. These burdens were heavy and full. My husband, then only my boyfriend, taught me about unconditional love and the forgiveness that Jesus brings. My husband loved me right were I was and showed me that God does to.

I began to seek.................God to me looked like a shepherd, who sought me out, saved me from the pits of my sin and loved me.... ugliness and all.

Dear God,

I thank you for loving me. I thank you for your mercy and forgiveness. I thank you that You sought me out. You came looking for me, seeking me until You found me. And when You found me You rejoiced. You love me that much. You were prepared to do what ever it took to bring me back home, into relationship with You – even the cross. Because of Your amazing love my heart daily longs to seek You everywhere I go and in everything I do. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Psalm 40:1-2

"I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand."

Psalm 119:176

"I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant for I have not forgotten your commands."

1 Peter 2:25

"For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

John 10:11

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

Luke 15: 1-7

"Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.' Then Jesus told this parable: 'Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."