August 2020 Love Letters: Day 5
Hello, darling!
I hope you are as well as can be, given the current state of the world. Today I am very grateful to not have been in the path of Hurricane Isaias. If you hadn’t come together to help me when I needed it, I might have still been living in my car in a parking garage in North Carolina. I am so glad you made it through the storm safely, though there may be damage to clean up. There usually is after a storm, whether it’s a physical or an emotional one. If you need anything, anything at all, please let me know.
Let’s dive in a bit, shall we? It’s so interesting to me that Isaias is the Spanish version of Isaiah, a word that means “God’s Helper” or “God is my salvation.” Isaiah is one of the books in the Bible, and he was a prophet who lived during the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah. According to truthunity.net, “Isaiah also signifies understanding of the truth that deliverance, abundant supply, spirituality, and all other forms of good come to man through Jehovah, the Christ, his higher self or spiritual I AM.”
As far as my own personal biblical knowledge, I would call myself a novice. During the time living in my car, in 2018, I finished my goal I’d set that year to read the entire Holy Bible, and I did it with literally an hour to spare before midnight. Reading my Bible is still a daily practice for me, but there is always something new I am learning or studying. So many people take the Bible just at face value, without applying it personally. Here’s a little secret I’ll let you in on: the Bible, all of it, is a book written to you and about you. In Matthew 4:4, Jesus tells us that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. For a better and deeper understanding of a book, we must go deeper with it. We must absorb our holy text fully, and apply it to every area of our lives.
Recently, I went on my first solo camping trip near a lake; it was just me and my pup. On the first day at my campsite, after I had everything set up and was relaxing in my camp chair, a mini tornado showed up out of nowhere. It quickly made its way down the dirt lane and disappeared directly across from me. I was terrified and considered for a moment that maybe I should pack up and leave. What do you do when Spirit shows up in a whirlwind? Well, for me – I prayed about it. I took a moment to pause, took a deep inhale, and said hello to my true love. I thanked God for showing me their awesome power and honoring me with their presence. God doesn’t always show up the way you expect, amirite?!
That camping trip was exactly what I needed to prove to myself that I am a strong and capable woman, and I am so glad that I did not retreat in fear when God showed up. That is what we must not succumb to now, my love. I know that you may be afraid – what I want you to know is that God is your shield, your glory, the one who lifts your head high. Psalm 3:3 tells us that, and is the verse God laid on my heart for all of 2020 in the beginning of the year.
While I was in the hospital in June, I was put on a combination of medication that made me feel like I was constantly having the worst panic attack I have ever experienced. It would not stop, no matter what I did, and I would pace the halls in sheer terror, thinking that I may never stop panicking. A chaplain walked by as I was pacing and stopped to inquire about my state of being. I told him what I was saying out loud to myself: “I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay…” He started to walk away, then turned around and came back to double-check on me. I told him when he asked again that I was NOT, in fact, okay, and we went into a room to speak privately. I poured out my heart to him. He was a kind and gentle soul (reminds me so much of you!), and he listened patiently as I told him my fears and worries. At the end of our conversation, he prayed for me. Wouldn’t ya know it, the last words of his prayer were Psalm 3:3, applied to me.
There had been a dam on my tears with the medications I was taking, but I shed a single drop as I told him that was the verse the Holy Spirit gave me for this year. It served as further confirmation for me of the mystical side of life we so rarely acknowledge. My darlings, there is no such thing as coincidence. You are reading this, my love letter to you, because you have been guided here. And oh! I love you so deeply. Words fail me, as much as I love them, when trying to describe the unlimited expanse of the love I am holding for you. My cup runneth over! You are so stunningly beautiful to me, even though you may sometimes feel broken. YOU ARE NOT BROKEN. You are whole, and wholly loved, just as you are. My God is with you, as your God is with me; the same Spirit resides within each of us.
Now, you already know my verse for 2020 is Psalm 3:3; I’d like to wrap up this letter with a little homework, if you choose to look it up, and that is the verse for 2019. You need a little enCOURAGEment? I got you, boo: Isaiah 41:10. My darling, I hope you sleep well tonight knowing how much you are loved and that I am always holding you in my heart. Sweet dreams, my family and friends. We are going to get through this together.
Love always,
L Joy
