A rainbow in the sky and words on my heart...

     We all have those moments. Those things that happen that absolutely change us.  Sometimes they're tragic, sometimes they are powerfully beautiful, like when you first see the face of your baby,  and sometimes you simply don't know what to call them, you only that you know you will never be the same after they happen. My revelation was one of those last ones, and it was powerful, so I planted a memorial stone so that I would always remember. I never wanted to forget this very clear moment that I had with God.  

    I had been in a season of waiting. Waiting for what, I did not know. But in faith I was waiting still. I was no longer writing my great American novel. God had won that wrestling match as I knew he would. But he let me fight it out with him for many rounds. When it was over, I laid on the rug in my living room in a heap of tears. I was drained and sad, but I knew how much I was loved and I absolutely believed that God had something else for me. So that was that. 

      Several months later, I had just spent a week with my sister in Dallas and was driving home from the airport, when God's presence came on me so powerfully that I had to pull over to the side of the road. It's hard to explain it, but God's presence was powerful. Quiet tears ran down my face as I glanced at the clock and realized that my sister Kay, and her daughter Abbi, who I had just left in Texas, were probably getting baptized at that very moment. I felt like God want me to pray for them. So I did. 

     "I want you to write again." God's words, so clear, brought me out of my prayer and I opened my eyes. What? The words had been so clear. Did I just heard God's voice? 

     On the windshield in front of me, were raindrops, and behind them, a sunny rainbow filled the sky. Tears rolled over my cheeks.  "Call it, The Glory Road. And I want you to paint." 

     These words were not audible, but they could not have been more clear. It was like He'd written them across my heart.   
     Now, as I sit down to share this, I still can't wrap my head around the place I find myself. God's presence continues to overwhelm me at times though, and at this moment I find this whole experience very hard to describe. Call what, "The Glory Road?"  I  wondered. What is that supposed to be? And paint what? I couldn't remember the last time I'd painted anything. Ever. 

     So I sat with it. I planted the memorial stone. And then, for several day in a row, I went back and sat there. Sat quietly with that moment of knowing God spoke to me. I was excited to write again, but confused about what that meant. So I just thanked Him and waited. 

     Later that week, I was working on my Bible study for my Fri. meeting, and I had this idea. The Glory Road? The road to Glory? I pondered this for a bit, and picked back up my Bible. How many times is the word Glory is used in Scripture, I wondered? So I looked it up. 

     Over 600 times. 376 times in the Old testament, and 230 times in the New Testament. Was this it, I wondered? Does God wants me to trace the word Glory through Scripture and write about it. I was suddenly very excited. With a bit more research, I found out that the word itself, glory, has many meanings and can be difficult to translate from the original languages of  Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. I also learned that it can refer to: God's greatness, worth and value, how we can be changed, a synonym for heaven, an adjective that gives honor, dignity, and majesty to God, and is sometimes its a verb. 

     Of course it is, I thought. 

     Glory is often used to describe God's majesty and greatness, which is reflected in His creation and His people. Yes! God's creation of nature has always brought me to a place of worship. I must be on the right track. 

     And so now...I had a plan. My work was cut out for me, but the excitement I had filled me with energy and I took it on with a crazy new energy. I used a program that told me what language the word glory came from in each place I found it as I traced it though the Bible. It was exciting and the pages filled as the words flowed. I shared with my friends in my Bible Study group what I was doing and why. They encouraged me and prayed for me. We even went through several of my Chapters around the table. 

     I was full. 

     Long story short, I never finished tracing "glory" through Scripture, because it wasn't about the finishing line, it was about the journey God was took me on. I spent an intimate year with him. The Bible I used during that time of tracing glory, still has all the page tab stickers with all the earmarks and all the printed translations slid between the pages. I will never take them out, because they represent another memorial stone. That time in my life was so precious to me. God healed something in me during that year I walked so close beside Him. I got filled back up with Faith. That time reminded me of who He is and who I am in Him. 

     And it was that time in my life that transitioned into the stories and pictures you will find in this book. I realized that my life was already full of his Glory. He'd been weaving it into my spirit and heart heart since my earliest childhood, and so I began to write my stories. 

     This became my Glory Road. And it all belongs Him. He is after all, the greatest ever writer of stories. 

     And so...may our story, (the one God wrote for me) bless you, and may you feel His presence in these pages.