I arrive home from work, as always, no later than 5:15. I unlock the door, walk in, and I hear a constant, yet slightly faint beeping. Two seconds later it registers in my mind that the alarm is going off (slight panic attack). I call Rhonda. No one picks up (worry). All of a sudden, what seems like sirens from within the house start blaring! I attempt to call Stephen and had to step outside just so I could hear the phone ringing. He doesn't pick up. Try again. Second time is a success. Stephen gives me the code to turn off the alarm, all the while, the security people (or whomever they are) are calling the house phone. I ignore the call still trying to turn off the blasted alarm.
Finally there is silence and my heart is racing and thanking God that no policemen have showed up...not yet that is. Stephen arrives home, finally, from work and assures me that all is well...and then the policemen show up. I'm so glad Stephen was there to explain that they have a guest living in their house during the Summer and that I'm not some burglar trying to barge in.
Apparently Rhonda set the alarm when she left the house earlier today assuming that she would be back at some point to turn it off before I got home. That did not happen.
But last weekend I had one of my best experiences of the Summer thus far...
I went to Amarillo to visit a friend for a couple of days and the morning I was to leave we sat out on the front porch and talked away just before my departure. When we first went out, there was a fog and it was chilly enough to wear a jacket. As the conversation continued, we began to to discuss God and time, and the powers of the Holy Spirit and the deeper our conversation got, the more the sun began to shine...literally! It was truly an unexpected and very emotional experience. Something in those moments with each other happened and it was hard to not feel the Holy Spirit's presence. I can't explain it, but I had never felt so close to God in my entire life. And it was more than just a sensation, there was something so real and nearly physical that took place in my body.
Have you ever felt that for a moment or two you weren't bound by time? I know. It's a crazy concept. Our culture today thrives off of time. It's so precious to us. But there is something about getting close with God that takes you away from the world's idea of "reality" and you begin to experience this ultimate and spiritual reality. And because God is not bound by time and because He is all powerful, He is able to remove us from our bondage of time and can allow us to experience the fullness of His presence. I can't explain it, but what felt like a mere thirty minutes of such rich conversation actually ended up being a shocking two hours.
And it didn't stop there. The drive from Amarillo to Lubbock is just under two hours. For the first full hour home, I just talked to God. And I mean I talked to Him. He didn't respond with an audible voice, and I didn't have this formulated prayer to present to Him. I just talked as need, after desire, after person, after event, after worry and fear were brought to mind. I have never found it so easy to talk to God and for that length of time. I expressed all emotions that I felt. And God answered by giving me His "peace which transcends all understanding." He showed me that the beauty of His creation is...simply beautiful. He answered by steadying my heart rate and by letting His Spirit swell so much in me that I couldn't contain any tears.
Now, for those of you who know me well enough, I typically do not like to express a ton of emotion (especially any emotions that involve tears). I don't like to cry in front of people at all. But there is something so freeing when I am able to shed my tears in front of God.
The rest of the drive I was silent. But God's presence never left me. I was simply at a loss for words. And once again, I felt that I was outside the barriers of time. God was with me and nothing else mattered. I wish that I could fully express or even fully understand what happened to me that day. But I can promise you that it changed me completely. I have never felt so hungry, and at the same time, never so satisfied.
I guess what I would like to encourage is to not limit yourself when you go into God's presence.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, and with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7
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