For I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land. // Ezekiel 36:24
My restless, teenage heart, over the course of a year, had directed me away from receiving the untethered gift of God’s freedom and deep affection for me. Wandering from the green, fruitful pastures of His heart, I found myself in lands that only produced empty satisfaction. My heart was thirsting for something deeper than temporary contentment.
I was convinced that the Love my soul was seeking for was unreachable. Even if I reached it, I considered myself unworthy.
The enemy had sown these painful lies upon my already aching heart. Punishment for walking away from the Father felt like a more realistic outcome than a welcoming embrace.
In today’s First Reading, we hear, “For I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land” (Ezekiel 36:24).
Sister, the lies that I believed in are not the reality of His Fatherhood. He is a good and faithful Father with a bursting heart that pursues you every second of the day. Even when you don’t pursue Him in return.
I don't know what lies are painfully lingering upon your heart and mind, but when we wander away from the abundant land of the Father’s heart, His profound love is always ready to redirect our souls back to Him. He is always willing to go the extra mile to retrieve the hearts of His beloved daughters. Christ will bring you back into the land of His most merciful and Sacred Heart. The land in which we long to be.
Sweet Jesus, thank You for loving us so well. May You always redirect our hearts back to You. Amen.
He is always willing to go the extra mile. // Bella RolClick to tweet