Sister, you need to know that the Favor of God is upon your life. I've seen it innumerable times in the past couple of years, and in the past couple of weeks, specifically, and I wanted to record some ot these things here so you will never forget them.
When I'm talking about the Favor of God on your life, I'm talking about a "favor" He has given you with people, and in life in general. God has His hand on your life--it's obvious, sis--and it's important to me that you understand that GOD is the one who has given you that favor.
I suppose, for me, when I saw it the most--and most shockingly, perhaps--was the summer of 2013, the one we spent in Florence, Italy. It was incredible to me to watch His hand upon you. People were drawn to you in unusual ways. In Italy, an elderly woman got up to give you her seat on the public tram (she was ELDERLY, and you were not yet 5 years old!); a street vendor GAVE you a toy, free of charge; the nuns who worked in their store next to the Duomo (we frequented the store during our stay in Florence) WROTE YOUR NAME DOWN before we left so they could pray for you. They also gave you an incredible FREE gift, a pendant of Mother Mary, the Miracle Mary pendant that Mother Teresa famously gave out to people. Sis, they loved you everywhere we went.
This year, too, I see the favor of God on your life. At Camp Bravo, out of several other students, you were chosen as the outstanding member of your group. (And you MISSED the first day of camp because you were sick with an ear infection and I had to take you to the doctor!). At our PFA VBS, you were chosen for a game one night, the outstanding student of the group the next night, and you WON one the scooter for your group in a drawing. (You only had your name entered once--because you brought your cousin Whittany with you to the VBS. Sis, you only had ONE SLIP and it was the one drawn.)
These are just a few of the things on my mind to tell you. But I wanted to tell you: if you follow The Lord and His precepts, to the very best of your ability, His favor will continue to rest upon you. I pray, always, that it will rest upon you for the duration of this life and in the one to come (when we meet Jesus).
One word of caution, if I may: Don't take His favor for granted. THANK HIM every day for it. Thank Him for EVERYTHING: provision, protection, blessings, favor. HE IS THE SOURCE, SIS. Hang on to His hand all the days of your life. He will BLESS YOUR LIFE, I can promise you that. And I can say that because I've seen it from the beginning: He is all over your life. He has set you apart, and that means that He calls you His own. He has plans for your life, sis, and the Bible says they are GOOD! (Jeremiah 29:11).
I love you, and I love that you love Jesus. Never let go of His heart.
Love, Mommy
P.S. Having the Favor of God on your life does not mean you will be perfect, or make all of the right decisions. Just, please, if you mess up, DON'T GIVE UP. Just do what the Bible tells us to do in I John 1:9: "If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." This verse tells us that we must always keep the lines of communication open with Jesus. We must talk to Him, even about what we have done wrong. Don't hide things or keep secrets. (He knows what we've done, anyway.) Just talk to Him. Tell Him you messed up, and exactly what that sin/"mess up" was. If we "repent"/confess, the Bible tells us He WILL forgive us. No matter what it is that we've done, if we're sincere and serious about our regret, He will hear us and forgive us. AND cleanse us--meaning, He makes it right again. Sis, it's important not to just flippantly say, "I'm sorry," but to get before The Lord and truly apologize for our wrong-doing. (And our intent, when we apologize is to NEVER mess up again!) When our hearts are right before The Lord, repentance is something we WILLINGLY do, we want to do, because we want to be in right standing with The Lord. And, sissy, there is NOTHING like being in right standing with The Lord. You can hear Him and feel Him and know Him soooooooo strongly, sooooooooo tangibly. I wish everyone knew the relationship they could have with our Lord. That's why we must tell them.
I love you.
