What Was There All Along

He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us. // Acts 17:26-27

I buried my toes in the sand, a light breeze ruffling my hair. I was sharing a picnic dinner on the beach with friends, a group of people brought together by tragedy—all of us grieving the loss of our spouses early in life and facing the formidable challenge of raising small children alone.

I had joined this group for camaraderie and commiseration, but I quickly learned that I was the only one among us who hoped in Christ. I ached for the people around me, all of whom expressed despair, confusion, and deep pain.

One woman asked, in raw honesty, how we found the motivation to get out of bed each morning. Feeling a gentle nudge from the Holy Spirit, I ventured to answer: “Jesus.”

Looking around at the clouds, rosy-peach in the fading sun, reflected in a million sparkles on the waves of Lake Michigan, I wondered: How do people who don’t believe in God explain all the perfect, intricate designs in nature? The particular ways in which things work together, even at the smallest level?

I watched my children playing along the shore, each one a unique miracle woven together with infinite potential. Who could deny the presence of a Creator so clearly reflected in each of their faces? How do people make sense of pain and loss without the love of a Savior Who lost everything to make us His?

Join me in prayer today, sister, for all those in our lives who are seeking God, but have not yet found Him. Live your life in a way that invites people to see God’s beauty. When you see it, delight in it, raise your voice in praise, point it out to others. Pray that their hearts will be softened, that one day the scales will fall from their eyes and they will see, finally, what was there all along.

“I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance” (Luke 15:7).