"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1.

God’s love for His children is so overwhelming. In listening to a message/podcast, this verse was discussed in great detail. The speaker challenged us to think about how great the Father’s love is for us. Being called His child – His daughter is such a powerful concept.


Thinking more about it and about how He made me and wired me just amazes me even more. If I stop and think about the overabundance of blessings in my life, I can’t help but be driven to my knees and to a place of profound gratitude.

A year ago this weekend I prayed for Him to reveal my purpose and His plan for me. He responded immediately, whispering into my soul with Jeremiah 29:11 and telling me to help Him write His story. Really? Me? Oh yes. He has provided the guidance, the words and the mechanism to draw others to Him. I am humbled and grateful that He chose to give me the gifts He did and is using them to touch lives. Honestly, what He’s done in mine and my family’s life the past year has been beyond our wildest dreams.

And as I sit here and ponder the past year, what lies ahead and what He has in store for the future, I’m feeling pretty lavished on – as the verse says. Oh, we’ve had trials and challenges, but the underlying current is an abundance of grace and the peace of knowing that nothing we go through is without purpose or His presence right in the middle of it. We can and do lean on Him for our strength and comfort and He’s always there.

Our gratitude tends to be in the visible and immediate – when a door opens, an opportunity lands in our laps, we meet the right person and the right time or something nothing short of a miracle just “happens.” But more than the opened doors and opportunities, people and places He’s intersected my life with is the redemptive power of His love. That is a love that is beyond comprehension or repayment. That He loves me enough to call me His is really lavishing on me more than enough. Everything else is His grace and my humble gratitude.