3 years ago my family fell apart, and with it, my whole world. 2 years ago, the date was a painful reminder of hurt in my life and a time I didn't want to think about. But last year, all of that changed.
I decided to take a day that the enemy and stolen and turned to his purpose and TAKE IT BACK. I took it back and made it a day of celebrating God's promises, of standing in the gap believing that my God is a God of restoration. I declared this day Restoration Day, and this is what I wrote on that day:
God is a God of restoration. He takes us, broken and faulty, falling apart at the seams, and puts us back together again. Originally made perfect, yet now rusty remains of what we once were, He renews us completely and makes us new again. Piece by crumbling piece, He brings a whole man out of the wreckage that we call ourselves. He restores not only us but our relationship with Him, the one that was once lost to us by sin and guilt, bringing intimacy and communion with God out of the distance that once stood between us.
God is working restoration in my family. He is taking what was broken and faulty, falling apart at the seams, and is putting it back together again. So much more than flesh and blood, the enemy sought to poison what God had created good and holy, a family, my family. Seeking to kill and destroy, he used the weapons that he knows well: betrayal, bitterness, anger and shame. He thought he had won.
But my God is a God of restoration. What the enemy destroys, he has to restore sevenfold. God has promised me complete restoration for my family, sevenfold above and beyond what it was before. He has promised me new growth and new ministry for my family. And He has promised me that He remains faithful to His promises. As it says in Numbers 23:19, "God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?"
Last year, I celebrated with my squad in Malaybalay, in the Philippines. Today, I celebrated with my team here in Chinandega, Nicaragua. The festivities included a special Restoration Day song (Happy Birthday with a few switched up words) and chocolate chip cookies, provided by the amazing Amy Crow and Naomi Graber.
We also built an altar, a tradition I started in the Philippines last year. Used in the Old Testament, altars commemorated something God did or a promise he made. On the rocks of our altar we wrote the promises God had made to us… The restoration of families, the future spouse yet to be met, and the futures waiting to be walked out. Gathering our promises together, we celebrated in our God, the God who fulfills promises.
Happy Restoration Day! 😀
