What if returning to God is simpler than we make it?
When You Wander, Return
Dear Friend,
Last week at Gather, we talked about a word that can sometimes feel a little heavy: repentance.
But I’ve been thinking about how different repentance looks when we really understand the heart of God.
We looked at Adam and Eve hiding in the garden. We looked at David and all the ways he tried to cover and manage what he had done. And then we looked at the father in Luke 15.
His son had wandered far from home. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and ran toward him.
I love that.
The son hadn’t made it home yet. He hadn’t cleaned himself up. He hadn’t even finished saying all the things he thought he needed to say.
His father moved toward him.
That is the God we return to.
Because we all wander, don’t we? We hide. We pull away. We try to manage things on our own. And sometimes we carry things far longer than we were ever meant to carry them.
But God keeps inviting us back.
Return.
That’s why we made our RETURN bracelets at Gather. On each bracelet was a charm of a little house with a heart inside, a simple reminder I hope we’ll carry with us long after that evening:
When you wander, you can always return home with an open heart.
You are already known. You are already loved. And the Father’s arms are open.
I put together a little glimpse of our evening below. It was so beautiful to see the room filled with women talking, creating, laughing, and opening their hearts to God and to one another.
And a special thank you to Christ Memorial Church for welcoming Crafted with Purpose into our new home for Gather. We are so grateful for the beautiful space and the way you’ve made room for us and for the women who gather around these tables.
Wherever you are as you read this, I hope you’ll carry this invitation with you:
You can always return.
If you’re here in the Holland area, I’d love to have you join us at a Gather and experience one of these evenings around the table with us. And if you’re farther away, we’ve created a RETURN Bracelet Kit so you can make your own bracelet, including that same little house-with-a-heart charm to carry the reminder with you.
Because whether you’re sitting at one of our tables or reading this from miles away, the invitation is the same:
Return home with an open heart.
More of Him, Donna Crafted with Purpose
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