Holy Spirit Story: Wrecked by the Reckless Love of God

Acts 1:8 (NIV)

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

CONSIDER THIS

Today’s story is from Maren Kurek. Maren is on the Farm Team, serving as an editor for Seedbed. I was delighted to see her Holy Spirit story show up in my inbox. She shares a very vulnerable word many will identify with. It is a story about the lasting impacts of trauma. It is yet another story revealing to us how the love of God is actually the power of God. Below you will read the story in Maren’s own words and if you listen, in her own voice. 

I’ve never had anything truly traumatic happen to me. Many times I’ve wondered how I would hold up if something did . . . how my faith would hold up. This past year has been, hands down, the hardest year of my life. In addition to having challenging financial hardships, on March 27 of this year, the unthinkable happened. My two sons were present on the day of the shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville. 

My story is not about that day, but about the lingering effects of trauma that I have attempted to unravel since then. Though neither of my children was harmed that day, it has been surprising to me how it has affected every area of my life. Last month, it was six months to the day that the shooting occurred. We had some family friends who had just undergone their own personal trauma coming into town. And I thought, I know they are going to need a place to come to rejuvenate and feel loved on and right now I have nothing to give. My bucket is empty. 

It dawned on me that I had been hiding these past six months. I felt truly vulnerable, like a raw nerve. What I thought was sacred and safe felt threatened. My ground felt shaky underneath my feet. And the worst part was that I had the realization that I had been hiding from God as well. I wasn’t angry at him; I hadn’t lost my faith. But I didn’t want to be vulnerable or open myself up even to God.

I went for a walk that morning and asked God, “What do you want to say to me?” I didn’t feel or hear anything on my walk so I went home to begin work.

I put worship music on in the background and as I began doing my editing the song “Reckless Love” by Cory Asbury came on. The lyrics talk about how God has been so, so good to us. The chorus says, “Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God.” It was like an avalanche of realization came over me and I cried racking sobs. I had mistakenly thought that when I asked God to tell me what he wanted to say to me it was going to be along the lines of how I had been tested, and I had failed. I hadn’t come to him as I should. 

But what he told me was this . . . simple yet so profound: “I see you. And I love you.” Maybe I had forgotten that he loved me in the middle of so much pain. I felt like a child, a little girl, that he just wanted to love on. Sometimes we forget how big and overwhelming and never-ending that love is. Sometimes, there is no answer to our deepest pains. Sometimes, we just need to sit in his love. 

Maybe you know this powerful song. I will link it here if you want to give it a listen. 

THE PRAYER

Abba Father! Thank you for this powerful reminder of the depths of your love for us. Would you personalize this for us; even me? In being reminded of the tragic day at the Covenant School in Nashville, we are moved to pray for all those students and staff and their families. Heal them of this horrifying trauma and restore them to the joy of your salvation. Thank you for Maren and the witness she bears to you and the “overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God.” Bring us into this bedrock reality today. Grace us to simply sit in this love today, and make us beacons and spacious places of this same love for others. Praying in Jesus’s name, amen. 

THE QUESTION

When was the last time you experienced this kind of “I see you. And I love you” attentive love of God for you? Who might it become a spacious refuge for today of the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God? 

THE HYMN

Today let’s sing our Saturday song, “Sanctuary.” Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true. With thanksgiving I’ll be a living sanctuary for you. Such a profound prayer of consecration. This is our story, dear friends. This is our song. 

For the Awakening,
J.D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com

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P.S. Please join me for an hour of Wake-Up Call fellowship on Monday Night. 

We will gather on Zoom—link below—at 7 p.m. CT for a time of fellowship together. I’ll do Q and A. We may sing a hymn, hear a testimony, share pictures of our grandchildren ;0) . . . and whatever else the Spirit has for us. We will hold to an hour. I can guarantee you one thing—Jesus will be there and he will encourage us. 

Here’s the Zoom Link for October 23. The passcode is 123456 if needed. 

P.S.S. Holy Spirit Stories Welcome

I would love it if you would send a story of faith from your life we might use on a Saturday in the future. We will be glad to attach your name or a pseudonym or anonymity—it’s up to you. It can be a story of coming to faith, a story of transformation, a story of healing, deliverance, suffering and sufficient grace, family reconciliation, prodigal returns, answered prayer, and so forth. A word count of 500–800 words works well. We can’t guarantee publication, but we assure you of our prayerful discernment. You can reply to this email with your story and it will come to me.