God is so good

I know the title of this entry sounds rather cliche-ish. However I do not know any other words to use to describe what I am experiencing as I walk with Him. In 1994, Bev and I relinquished our dream to own a farm and breed the best herd of Holstein cattle possible. God invited us to leave it all and follow Him into the unknown. We simply assumed that the dreams of raising livestock, of cows contentedly lounging on a green pasture were gone.

For the past several years, I have done some security work at the Pennsylvania Farmshow and Expo Center. Last fall as I watched a cattle show, I began to realize how much my heart was still stirred by the thought of breeding cattle. I began to wonder if maybe my heart dreams that I relinquished in 1994 were perhaps coming to life again.

In January of this year, God opened the door for me to work in the livestock nutrition field. Once again I find myself working a job that is not work for me. It makes my heart come to life. The dream of breeding fine cattle is stirring again.

When I gave my dreams to God, relinquishing my right to fulfill them, I assumed that He had discarded them in some eternal trash can to buried in the landfill of selfish desires. Instead, He deposited those dreams into an eternal bank account for a time. While I thought that they were dead, in reality, like any good investment, they were collecting interest until the time for them to be given back to me. God could have chosen to discard those dreams, instead He took care of them for me. God didn't have to keep those dreams for me - but He did!

And so I find myself in a place where my heart explodes with gratitude. His goodness in giving the dreams back to me was not required for me to love Him. He has already done enough. But the lavish restoration of relinquished dreams points to His extravagant love for me.

To all of this I can only say GOD IS SO GOOD!