Altar

One of my favorite songs that Steve Bell sings is "Here by the Water" (music and lyrics by Jim Croegaert).  This is the second verse and chorus:

"I think how a yearning
Has kept on returning to move me
Down roads I’d never have chosen
Half the time frozen
Too numb to feel
I know it was stormy
I hope it was for me learning
Blood on the road wasn’t mine though
Someone that I know
Has walked here before

And here by the water
I’ll build an altar to praise Him
Out of the stones that I’ve found here
I’ll set them down here
Rough as they are
Knowing You can make them holy
Knowing You can make them holy
Knowing You can make them holy"

Those words have always spoken right into my life, whether I felt that God was far away or close by. . .'down roads I'd never have chosen. . .blood on the road wasn't mine though. . .I'll build an altar to praise Him'.  Throughout the Bible, people build physical altars of stones as a visual reminder so as they passed by these places, they might remember God's faithfulness and continue to press on.

This Sunday, one year ago, is an altar in my life - a reminder that changes had been stirring within me for a while and this day marked a specific change.  So many people, including myself, expect God to work instantly, and if we don't feel a change right away, well, we wonder if God is really working.  Starting in April 2009, I made the decision to let go of bitterness and anger, and start to listen to God's voice again.  Things did not change overnight.  I felt like I was still reading my Bible out of habit and that my prayers were still bouncing back to me off of the ceiling, but I persevered.  I certainly experienced God in profound ways - small glimpses - as the year progressed, but nothing radical.

Then came this Sunday in South Africa!  I got a call from a friend back home and I remember telling her that I actually FELT like a Christian.  No angels singing or flashes of lightning, but rather a realization that God had been working all along.  His purposes were specific and He never gave up on me.  I am thankful to God for many things, but I think one of the items that tops the list is His patience.  It took so long to turn things around for me, but I'm SO thankful that He never let go and thought me a lost cause.  And so I build an altar, as a reminder of my faithful God, who's mercy is never-ending and love is all-encompassing!