"Feelings, nothing more than feelings..."

God's not always interested in how I'm most comfortable hearing His voice. I don't think He was interested in that when He had fire talk to Moses through a bush. Moses probably wasn't used to shrubbery interrupting his sheep-watching time. But regardless of how I imagine God will or should speak, He's always taking care to touch on what I need to grow in. And He's helping me recognize His presence in new ways.

I'm feeling Him stretch me in this season of my life. Well actually... I'm feeling Him. It's not one of those stretches that hurts like hell... It's actually one that comforts like ice cream and falls like cherry blossoms. You might be apt to say that since it sounds so nice, it's no stretch at all... But I am not used to physically feeling God... not in the way you'd feel ice cream on your tongue. Feeling God, to me, IS a stretch. It's a stretch that I'm ready for now.

What a good stretch! However, what a scary stretch all at the same time. As a human being, I tend towards fear when something really incredible is happening in my life. Not necessarily a fear of the happenings themselves, but a fear of their absence. But something God has also been speaking to me in this season is that He is the God of their absences too... and whatever He brings into my life, He will be faithful to sustain for exactly as long as I need it. When seasons shift, or the blessings transform as time commands... God will not leave me with nothing. And He will certainly not let the absence of anything trump the reality of His presence!

"You are talking about feelings, though, Jenna. Fleeting feelings - unreliable to be sure." (That was my alter-ego.) Yes! They ARE feelings! They are feelings of Him, which He has now introduced into my life. And though many feelings are fleeting, I should not be afraid of them vanishing forever. A winter season might come, and I might have to simply believe in spring time renewal for a while - choosing to press in, though the chill has frozen my senses temporarily- but once you know what the blossom feels like, it's easier to recognize when it hits your cheek again...

What am I saying in all this mumbo jumbo flower talk? Mainly that God is stretching me to feel Him... that He is giving me a new way of knowing His presence. That He is blessing me with things like that right now; and when something is so good, it can simultaneously be just as scary. But I don't want to waste a season of rich sensations worrying that I will lose touch with it eventually. Instead, I am going to trust Him as He moves me along, teaching me to recognize things that may, in time, lay dormant at points but remain instilled in a new part of me.

Kind of like getting a hug from a friend. The hug stops at some point, but you will forever recognize its enveloping touch.