God speaks to me.

maize hutton is a very talented woman who creates beautiful, smile-inducing things from the stuff most of us would find ordinary or even cast away... her original product, the "mommy tag", is a sweet tribute to moms crafted from silver that she recycles from old film (along with all her silver jewelry creations). i've been admiring her work, & following her daily creations, finds, & thoughts on her blog at maizehutton.com since finding the site several weeks ago.

wednesday afternoon, i stopped at my PO box to find a package waiting for me with maize hutton written stylishly in the upper left... i tore it open & promptly started crying in the chiang mai post office parking lot. you can see the contents in the squares above, but i'm afraid they probably don't totally explain my emotional outburst :). while i LOVE gifts to begin with, have an affection for old books, & melt over anything shiny & personalized, i really need to share more of the story (& you're probably wondering why a lady who makes jewelry for celebrities sent me a package, anyway - not that i totally know the answer to that question**)...

i've struggled on & off as a Christian with "performance" issues.... after first learning about a God who knows me totally & loves me without condition, i slowly forgot about His unconditional acceptance of me & worried a lot more about "doing things" to please Him, rather than "being" His child. as a result, i've often felt distant from Him... not really feeling His love or hearing His voice...
lately, i've felt God "wooing" me back to Him - in the midst of feeling a bit burnt out from serving a God who i often saw as a drill sargeant rather than a loving Father - i've heard His voice (through a few good books, including the Bible, and some trusted friends) reminding me to rest... to "be" His child & to stop trying to "do" things for Him. it's been a hard transition... learning to rest in Him when i found a lot of my significance in the things i was doing for Him.
at the suggestion of a friend, i've been asking Him for confirmation of His love & to hear His voice more clearly again.
so, as you can imagine, the package was very special.... the handmade necklace reminding me of His special, individual love for me (also a visual reminder of the love He showed me in giving me a wonderful husband)... and the book (a 3rd grade sunday school reader titled simply, God Speaks to Me) reminding me to be His child & that He does, indeed, still want to speak to me.

how is God speaking to you? i pray you'd have ears to listen & eyes to see just how He is showing you His love today.

-caryn

**apparently, when i commented on maize's blog, she clicked on the link to my blog (where she found mike's name & learned a bit about us)... other than her being an amazing woman with huge heart, i don't really know why she chose to bless me with this wonderful package... but i do know that i heard God's voice inside that padded envelope.


"God works in mysterious ways and through others when you least expect it." -maize hutton

(from her reply to my thank you email, in which i explained a bit about my story & why her gift meant so much)

thanks again, maize!