I am grateful when someone says to me, “You are such a beautiful woman of God.” Not because it exalts me: I know who I am on a day-to-day basis. But because I know it is God in me that they see.
You see, I am not particularly gifted with a “Christian” personality. I’m not patient. I’m not always kind. I don’t even proselytize. If someone who knows I am a Christian hurls foul language and images at me as if to say, “Take that, you…Christian!” There is nothing in my personality that tries to convert them. I just want to get on with my day.
So, I know that if anyone sees God in me, it is really His image that they see. No one else could make such an incredible transformation in me.
And He is still making incredible transformations in me.
I know God has made the changes. But I also know that I had to make space.
- There’s a physical space that indicates height and width and depth. It is the space where I’ve made room for God; that’s the space with the chair, ottoman and bookcase.
- There’s also a metaphorical space—freedom to move or grow. We need to give God space to move in our lives, to teach us things, to grow us up in Christ.
- Finally, there is a space in reference to time. “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear” symbolizes the relationship between time and space: it’s a warning that the object may get to you sooner than it may seem.
God is always closer than He seems (Matthew 28:20; Romans 10:8). I made space for God because I needed Him. I was hurting. And I prayed to the Lord through my hurting. I put my faith into practice (James 2:17). I sat down and asked God how I could make my life better. His Spirit led me to many scriptures I had read before, which over time have helped me to reorder my priorities. I am learning to put God first, which is hard to do, but with the help of the Holy Spirit I am doing it, for the Bible says, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit (Zechariah 4:6).
The older I get, the more space I make for God. I don’t know how much time I have left. I make it personal with the Lord. By dying on the cross, He has already made it personal for me.