"You're a God who has all things, and you still want me!"

The title is from a song, called "I need you to love me."  It can be hard to comprehend that a God who is powerful enough to make mountains, oceans, space, animals, tornadoes, towering trees, etc...could love me...us.

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.

After seeing all that He has created and coming to realize that you want to serve Him forever it makes you want to go above and beyond to make your Creator proud/glad He made you.  However, this is the hard part.  I am learning I don't have to do anything to make Him love me.  He loves everyone so much.  God just wants your heart.  Not your talents, money, fame, health, family, etc.  He gave you all that anyways...He just wants your heart.  Once you give Him your heart....He will treasure it always and promises to take us to Heaven to live with Him...again not by our good deeds, but because of His steadfast (unending, never empty, always full) love.

Romans 5:8 God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

It feels as though I'm caught in a heavy downpour of rain as my body struggles with health issues again.  I find myself asking God for an umbrella.   If I could just get out of this downpour for awhile and get a chance to dry!  If I could just get out of the pelting rain!  If you'd shelter me more, I could serve you better.  But those are my thoughts.  

As I picture myself drenched in the middle of no where (not even a tree to stand under), I find myself panicking that I'll be stuck here forever and I'll never do anything of worth again!  As my tears mix with the rain,  I imagine God looking down on me with love and saying something like this.  "Sandy, I know you're really wet, but you know that I am in charge of this rain and I won't let you drown! I've got your heart!  You ask me for an umbrella....I AM YOUR UMBRELLA!!  I need you to go through this rain because there are those going through rain without their Umbrella.  You'll always have an Umbrella.

....I forget that my umbrella is God.....in the pounding rain, things get so hard to see and I forget that I have a shelter forever in Heaven....but right now it's raining.  

So God please abide with me while it rains, never leave me, don't let me drown, don't ever let me go! 

God, Thanks for your promises and steadfast love.