"The last one, I only remember the end clearly. There was some mean/bitter/broken?? woman who made me do something at the beginning. Sometime later, I saw her again and there was another man too. She obviously was broken, but had a hard heart. I don't remember how it happened, but somehow she asked me, 'If you could say one word to me, what would you say?' It wasn't a desperate, pleading type of question, more like a stubborn hard tone (but you could sense something deep). My mind raced thinking about the 'best' thing to say. I think I sensed (correctly) that some hardship was making her bitter and I wanted her to be thankful/look at it in another light, so I said, 'Growth' with an attitude of judgment and instruction. Right when I said that, I could feel that I replied with my mind and 'cunning', not by asking God or the Spirit. You could tell she was not satisfied, but only angry. (Why should I grow? I've been through so much! I've been hurt so much!) As the situation was escalating I began pleading for God to give me a word and I began to be able to feel her Spirit. Slowly a word came to me and in a pause (she was ranting on and on), I slipped in, 'My second word for you is Beloved.' At that she paused and you could tell that she was struggling majorly with something and breaking completely. As I sensed that, I began to also break with tears with her as I pondered, 'Beloved' and her own conviction and newness God was giving her. Then I woke up with tears falling down my eyes.
It is true that my view towards myself and others is often one of "growth", not "beloved". I'm just starting to realize the weight and meaning of God's love for us!! It's soooo big!
i really like this story :)
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