My New Found Love For Jesus and the Father

For a long time I have been seeking to find a way to get close to Jesus and the Father. I knew that they loved me, and through scripture that I was born into a new life with them. In the beginning of the quarter, intimacy with God, I was hoping that I would find or at least experience just a touch of His love for me. I was not disappointed.

I liken it to an ice cream sundae. The first couple of classes, it was like he was forming a bowl inside of me with a deep bottom. Then he started putting scoops of ice cream in his formed bowl. I remember saying to him this is enough, but he wasn’t finished. Then came the sauce, it was rich and thick and it seemed like it would not end. I felt like the sauce was his love and mercy for me, just for me. Then came the chopped peanuts. His gifts just for me. Then the whipped cream, lots and lots of whipped cream. It was like I knew he was covering me with his presences and it was so sweet. Then comes the cherry. The cherry did not come until the conference. There was a new sense of freedom in me. All I wanted was to be close to Him, to hear Him for others and love those he brought to me. There was so much freedom to be what he created in me that I even danced during worship and I didn’t care because I was dancing for Him in the freedom of his love and closeness to me.

– Mary Elaine Riffel
Main Campus (Brighton)