where waves grow sweet

I’ve been thinking about it often, in great part because it articulates something I’ve been learning and experiencing: God wants us to live with our whole hearts. Because my passionate (and reckless) approach in my younger years led me to some very terrible places, I thought that the Christian version of me should look and feel tame and restrained. As a result, I rejected or compartmentalized anything within me resembling the passion that led to those bad decisions. 

Except that’s never what God asked of me. He didn’t want me to be a nice, docile person who never did anything wrong. He wanted to liberate me from the fear, self-loathing and rebellion that hijacked my passion for its own purposes. And to deliver me into the rich, fulfilling life that results from having it restored to its original design and purpose. 

Back in those old days, I was so disconnected from my heart that I couldn’t even have told you what I liked, let alone what set my soul on fire. But little by little, as God has walked me out of darkness, smoldering embers have emerged and flames are starting to burn in earnest. My redeemed heart, created by and connected to the Creator of the universe, is starting to lead the way. Not just the meek and mild parts. All of it. And I have to say, this is gonna get fun.