Hold the Moment
By Shirley Mitchell
“So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover's life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.”
Philippians 1:9-11 (The Message)
A little while ago, God gave me the most wonderful birthday present. He allowed me to return to the island that I love for one day. The devotion “Redeeming the Land” tells you more about the importance of this trip to Guam.
While I was in Guam, I rented a jet ski for one hour in a place called Tumon Bay. When I lived there previously, I learned to jet ski, and it was one of my favorite pastimes. Even though I was experienced, the rental company made me take a guide out with me. The guide pushed the jet ski out past the reef so we did not harm it. Then he turned me loose on the open sea and held onto the back. I think his customers were usually timid and did not floor the gas handle like I did. So I think I shocked him when I wanted to see how fast that ski could go.
On the north side of the bay is a place called Two Lovers Point. It is a 400 foot tall cliff with crashing waves below it. I was able to ride my jet ski almost right up to the cliff and small shore on the south side of it. The twoloverspoint.com website says, “If you could visit one place on Guam to take in the island's beauty, culture, and history in a single breath, come to Two Lovers Point. This startling cliffline in Northern Guam, overlooking the glimmering Philippine Sea, is the site of an ancient Chamorro (native to the island of Guam) legend. The legend tells of two lovers who, forbidden from being together in life, leaped to their deaths from the cliffside so they could be together in eternity…Since that day, Chamorros have looked to the jutting peak above TumonBay with reverence. The two lovers remain a symbol of true love--a love in which two souls are entwined forever in life and in death. Forever after, the high point on the cliff was known as Two Lovers Point.”
You can go to this website and see the view from the top of the cliff, but there is nothing like seeing it from the Philippine Sea. The beauty of God’s creation still takes my breath away. This is one of the most beautiful sights on earth. The colors are vivid. The sea is dark blue because the water is so deep. The cliff is a pretty luscious green for the vegetation that captures the eye. As I rode on that jet ski, I just stared at the cliff in front of me. As the spray of the sea came in my face and salt of the water in my mouth, it was one of the most precious moments in my life.
Why was it so precious? I never thought I would see Guam, the island that I love, again. It was too far. The plane ticket was too expensive. However, God made it possible. I had a view of the creative beauty of God that few people in the world ever see. I recognize moments that are to be remembered. I also recognize moments when I feel the love of God all over me. These few minutes gazing at Two Lovers Point – a place symbolic to the islanders for “true, eternal love” - I knew this was a moment to hold onto the rest of my life. I know the Lover of my soul. I know real true, eternal love. I feel like I am living the life true to the One who loves me more than any one else could love me. He has captured my heart, and it belongs to Him.
Now that I am back in the U.S. and in my every day life, I catch myself sometimes stopped at traffic lights. My mind goes back to the present that God gave me of that moment. That moment of God’s love is firm in my mind. It reminds me of God’s sweetness to me. It reminds me of how good He is to me and how He knows me so well that He knew how to give me the best birthday present of all. His love for me is amazing. It surpasses all understanding.
What about you? Do you know how amazing God’s love is for you? Have you had a God-moment where you knew how much He loved you? Are you living the lover’s life? Is it obvious who your first love is? Oh, beloved, how I hope and pray so much for you that all of your answers are affirmative. May you and I commit to always growing deeper in our love each day for the only One who can satisfy our deepest longings.
Pray with me: Oh, Lord, we have found true, eternal love in You. We have a love with You where we are entwined forever in life and in death. Your love for us is immeasurable. Your love has no bounds. You hold surprises for us and plan when to bestow them on us. You are the Giver of every good gift. You are the only One who can satisfy and fill the deepest places of our hearts.
We pray that our love will flourish and that we will not only love much but well. We will learn to love appropriately. We use our head and test our feelings so that our love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. We live a lover's life, circumspect and exemplary, a life You will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Your Son, Jesus Christ, attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.
It is in the mighty Name of Your Son Jesus, Yeshua, that we pray. Amen.