Between 11.59pm and 12am

Everyone is beginning to write or talk about 2012.  Their dreams, their plans, and some, their resolutions.  I await that magical moment between 11.59pm and 12am.  Something always happens.  It might not be big or maybe it will be.  
Some want to get plastered just to have a good time and some to forget; others want to get plastered just enough so they have the guts to kiss that special someone, but not forget it.  There are also some who sit at home with families and watch their children as they dream.  And then there are couples sitting looking at each other and perhaps one is waiting to "pop the question"; and there are others waiting for 12am to hit so they can break-up.  And there are some who want to end it all...all the pain from their past, present, and impending demise.  There are also those who are full of anticipation.  There are those at work not even watching the clock, yet are subconsciously aware they are getting a day older and better get to work.  Finally, there are those getting married or giving birth...and seeing life starting.

Whether someone is awaiting death, life, or somewhere in between there is one thing in common that fills the air between 11.59pm and 12am. Grace. 

In March 2012, I am heading to New Zealand and Tahiti on my first mission trip!  It makes me think about how long it has taken to get here....

But I will save that long-winded story for another time--preferably before 1am in the morning..... I actually want to focus on the title of my first blog,  "With All My Heartbeat".

Back in 2006, I was blessed to see the birth of my first niece.  I fell in love with her immediately.  As she has gotten older, she has become a powerhouse of enthusiasm and is as tender and sweet as can be.  She is also incredibly verbal and expresses exactly what is on her mind.  In more recent years, I have become a traveler and have visited/lived in Alaska, California, and Ireland to name a few.  With this traveling, comes heart-wrenching moments of joy and tears.  Before I recently left home, again, my niece made a comment about how I was gone all the time.  If that didn't pull on my heart strings enough, the next comment drove it home when she said to me, "I love you with all my heartbeat." 

I began thinking a lot about how deeply those words affected me; to be loved with every beat of someone's heart.  It got me thinking about my Creator and the love story that begins in Genesis and continues into eternity.  God feels that way about me...about humanity....He wants not only for me to know His immense love for me, but literally He wants our heart(s) to beat together in intimate relationship...to abide in the secret place of His presence...and to overflow.  I don't feel like I truly know what that means yet, but I am excited to find out....

   

You gaze in His eyes
And begin to drown in grace
One tear encompassing
Your past, present, and future

Washed clean
No longer separated
But living the love story; His-story
You were called to from birth

So you see
So you hear
You ARE made
For a time such as this