It was at middle school church camp where I first really felt the love of Jesus. I went down for prayer after a sermon, and I was overcome by the feeling of love. When my dad asked me about it, all I could say was, “Jesus loves me.”
That may sound as simple as a song you learn in Sunday school, but experiences like this are what showed me God is real. Of course, knowing something and feeling something are two very different things, and through the abusiveness of life, I forgot what God’s love felt like.
As an adult, I stumbled upon a verse that reminded me of the emotion. To this day, I still cry when I read Psalm 18:16-19 (MSG).
But me he caught—reached all the way
from sky to sea; he pulled me out
Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos,
the void in which I was drowning.
They hit me when I was down,
but God stuck by me.
He stood me up on a wide-open field;
I stood there saved—surprised to be loved!
If God revealed his love to me thirty years ago, why am I so surprised today? Maybe because feelings fade. Maybe because I mess up a lot and don’t believe I deserve love. Maybe because other people stopped loving me, so I assumed I’m unlovable.
Jesus rescued me from many painful situations like a hero in a romance novel. His love changed my life. And it’s no accident that I’m writing Christian romance now. Jesus showed me his love multiple times because I needed to be reminded, and I want to recreate that feeling again and again for my readers for the same reason.
Even if you’ve felt God’s love before, I want my books to help you experience afresh how He’s reaching down from heaven. I want you to open my stories as an escape from the way life hits you when you’re down. I want my heroines’s journey to include wisdom that directs you to a better place. Then I want you to arrive at the ending of my novels like you’re arriving at a surprise party. In the same way you see the pieces and parts of the fictional romance come together, I want you to stare around in wonder at your own life and the way God orchestrated a rescue just for you.
If you’ve never had a surprise party, you can watch this one we just had for my daughter. I flew her big brother in from college to be part of it, and I believe the way she ran into his arms is how we run to Jesus when we feel His love.
Whether you ever read one of my books or not, I pray you will open God’s word and let Him surprise you with how much you are already loved.
Angela Ruth Strong survived breast cancer, works as a flight attendant, and uses her own crazy life experiences as inspiration for the stories she writes. Her books have earned TOP PICK in Romantic Times, been nominated for a Christy, won the Cascade Award, and become Amazon bestsellers. She and her husband also got to play extras when her novel Finding Love in Big Sky was adapted for film. To help aspiring authors, Angela started IDAhope Writers where she lives in Idaho.
I can feel your heart by reading this and look forward to reading your books. Thank you for sharing. Have a blessed day.
You expressed wonderfully why I love reading CF!! I read it to strengthen my own faith, and to see how others (characters in this case) handle life, too. I don’t want just fluff, I want to see how God gets us through many different situations, and books do that. Thank you!!!!
Oh, what a sweet brother-and-sister love!
What a beautiful post. Thank you ❤️
Love that set of verses from the Psalms! Thanks for the reminder.
Oh Angela, I just love how you write…from your heart! Thank you for this! ❤
And I love that video of your daughter running to jer brother, what a sweet surprise.
The weight lifted. The darkness pierced. The scent of roses mysteriously replacing the pervasive odor of the refuse of our life. Music filling the lonely silence. The taste of honey breaking through the empty blandness of the stale bread of mere existence. Welcome in. Welcome home. Welcome to the place where being is enough, where longing is fulfilled and where the embraces are a real and lasting gift, lavished on you from hearts so full that only God Himself could be the source. This is the foretaste of glory divine. This is the holy eternal. Washed clean in tears of joy and driven onward by winds of purpose and provision, provision for the deepest needs, the greatest longings. Arrival in the heart’s most perfect place and yet where more is always yet to come. It is here that hope meets the here and now. Welcome in. Welcome home, my beloved.
I’m always amazed & awed by how much Jesus loves me! Your post today was a wonderful reminder of that. He sticks closer than a friend, never leaves nor forsakes me, and always fights for me….why? All because He loves me….just because. Isn’t it wonderful to realize that?
Your video was so heartwarming, put tears in my eyes! I love that your daughter and son are so happy to see each other again :-) What a special birthday surprise!
Wow wow wow glory to God you blessed my soul with your words today and that video was the top up . My soul has been encouraged my life is nothing without Jesus Christ I need Him everyday, second minute hour,day, week fortnight, monthly 365 days Christ Jesus is my all in all. Thanks a million.
Angela, thanks for sharing that scripture and your daughter’s surprise. So special.
Oh, happy day.
You must have a compassionate heart. <3 I hope you are blessed through your reading.
Yes! Reading stories of how others deal with hard situations prepares us for our own. I pray you’re inspired.
Yes! It blesses my heart!!!
Thank you for stopping by. So glad it meant something to you.
Yes! In the NIV it says, “He rescued me because he delighted in me.”
I love that translations too.
You are so encouraging. And yes, I love the video of my kiddos too. I’m not the perfect mom, but I’m really proud of how close my kids are to each other.
That’s beautiful. Well-said.
Thanks, Trixi. I want that kind of love for everyone. <3
I’m so glad you’re blessed. <3 May we all be just as overwhelmed with such love.
I want everyone to feel that kind of hug. <3
Amen!
Sorry I didn’t respond to your messages sooner. I was on a road trip with my daughter–the birthday girl in the video. Cell phone coverage was poor, there was no wi-fi in our cabin, and I was focused on her anyway. May you all feel as loved as she is.
Amen!
I love your post! I can almost feel I know you. And your heart for life touches me! I’d like to think we would be friends if we ever met. God is so good to give me spiritual sisters like you!