Describing the indescribable

It has been such a long time since I have written in this thing. And there has been SO much that God has been doing in my life that I just want to scream it all out at you, but then you would probably walk away quickly with immediate worry of my mental state. So, I will try to softly and tenderly let my excitement leak out through these words. Irony at its best.

Disclaimer: Most of what I have been experiencing cannot be put into words. Sorry if you find the redundancy of overwhelming joy a bore. And if that is you, I dare you to feel the way I do. Please.

For starters, I have a new favorite verse. Oh yes, I do.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. -2 Corinthians 2:14.

Those two words—triumphal procession—completely, fully, and blatantly describe what God is doing in my life right now. I mean, He always is, but I have never been aware of it in a way like I am now. He is doing that in your life too, whether you know it or not.

I had the opportunity of leading a group of four senior girls in bible studies at a church back home in a kind of DiscipleNow weekend called Invasion about two weeks ago. There were about 60 students there altogether, and that weekend may have changed my life. At least, it definitely changed my outlook on life, as revealed through the above verse.

As I was blessed to even be able to be present that weekend, it was made extremely clear to me that I was in the exact right place. I kept hearing this all weekend:

Lou, you are exactly where you are supposed to be.

Now, I have never in my years heard this statement so clearly in my head until that weekend. I mean, I always know that I am supposed to go where God leads me, but how often do I acknowledge the path?

It’s kind of like when you are driving a car somewhere you have been a thousand times and by the time you get there, you are thinking in your head, “How did I get here?”

Maybe that is just me. Or maybe, that is really dangerous…

Anyway, as I stood overlooking a group of 60 some students, from middle school to my seniors in high school, I could not help but to see my whole life before my eyes.

And no, not “my whole life flash before my eyes.” The word flash is totally not right. And so I hope that makes this seem a little less cliché…

The odds are against me.

It was a process. I saw myself, the awkward middle schooler with no sense of direction. I saw the 9th grader who was very dependent on friends, yet still urged for that something more. I saw myself last year, as a senior in high school, apprehensive about college and friends and life and the unknown in general. And then I heard,

Lou, you are exactly where you are supposed to be.

I cannot describe how sweet those words are to my ears. I cannot express the joy that comes with standing where I am today. I cannot begin to contain my feelings of overwhelming gratefulness to my Father in heaven for leading me in triumphal procession. I have been in utter wonder and awe of the master plan of how I got here. How perfectly it worked out. How all of the awkward situations as a middle schooler or all of the doubt and confusion that came with entering a new territory seem like dust in the wind of His power. And that wind becomes stronger and stronger with each experience, with each particle of dust.

So let the wind carry this fragrance, this aroma of the Lord my God. Who always leads me. Triumphantly. Perfectly.

Look at where you are now. How exactly did you get there?

May your answer bring you even just an ounce as much joy as mine has given me.

LMB