You are exactly where you are supposed to be.

For Mother’s Day, my children gave me a bag of Dove chocolates. If you aren’t familiar with this treat, the foil wrapping for each piece of delight carries an uplifting message. The first one I opened this May 2014 told me, “You are exactly where you are supposed to be.” Creepy candy knowing me too well.

I see I haven’t blogged since February of 2013. My life is completely different now than it was then. Though I had an excruciating journey, I am exactly where I’m supposed to be. 

Hymnist William Mackay penned, “Revive us again; fill each heart with thy love. May each soul be rekindled with fire from above: Hallelujah—thine the glory. Hallelujah—Amen!” That fire refers to a blazing desire, an overwhelming thankfulness, an all-encompassing passion for the Savior. But fire burns. And sometimes it is an agonizing flame that brings us to exactly where we are supposed to be.

Healing takes time. Many months passed before I uttered, “While I wish I had gotten here some other way, I’m glad for where I am.” More months passed before I realized: there was no other way. Fire cannot deliver without destroying. Sanctity cannot exist without scabs and scorches.

I don’t believe God burned me into beauty. I do believe He embraced me in the blaze. And I believe He made exquisiteness the outcome of the evil that surrounded me.

Once again I am here, feeling now more than ever the consequence of the name of this blog. And I feel ready to move, knowing these scars aren’t something I have to overcome; they are a reminder of the love that overcame me.

“Hallelujah—Amen!”

Mackay, William P. “We Praise Thee, O God.” 1863. Praise for the Lord. Ed. John P. Wiegand.  Nashville, TN: Praise Press, 1997. 732. Print.