“Beloved, I AM your reality.” He said.

I could not answer—He was beginning a process in me that I was not ready for…when He continued:

“If you keep waiting, you’re never going to 'be' ready. You’ve always been ready. I qualified you before anyone else had the chance to even try to put you down.”

I don’t really know what caused Him to come, what moved His heart to make me His target, but I know He knows what it feels like to be a person and He did not want to let me flounder another second. My relationship level with Jesus went from the buddy I would invite when I needed advice over coffee, text throughout the day, or have a late night talk with over the phone, to being a passionate Lover, living in my space. I could feel He pressed “launch” on the missile from the heart of Heaven to mine and it didn’t matter to Him if I exploded all over the place; clearly, He knew we would both prefer "me" way better all over the place in pieces because He had more to work with; He has a history of making beautiful things out of dust.

All I had to do was say "yes" all over again.

I gave Him the keys to the house (my heart); the house he had let me rent out the day I gave Him ownership of my life 17 years ago. My lack of invitation caused the house great neglect and He could not watch me make it any filthier, so I let Him bulldoze it over and rebuild it from scratch.

Jesus is funny—I could see Him let me nervously hold the hammer as I watched Him measure out the perfect dimensions of this house He was rebuilding. I was falling in love with the Carpenter—everything He did was with kindness, laughter, grace and endless love; He would let me choose the wood from the dreams He had been growing in me and would smile confidently when I hit the nail right. Little did I know, He was guiding the hammer the whole time…but He still said “Hahaha, you’re getting it. You're getting there, Beloved.”

I noticed as He handled the wood confidently, there was no fear that He carried. The wood was the same as the wood He was nailed to when He died for me, and as He guided my hand to hit the nails through the wood He measured out, He did not flinch for a moment--His death allowed this opportunity to create a Home more beautiful that He could rest in. I gazed at the holes in His hands as He brushed off the saw dust (or what I like to call gold dust), just visibly proving that He just installed something incredibly new in me. They were full of gifts; completely perfect, and He didn't even have to say 'I love you' for me to know this truth so deeply. Every inch of Who I was standing next to was a love letter to my heart--looking at those scars was as though a song was ringing right from Him to me, and there was no shame as I looked back at Him. He knew the price He paid to ransom me, and He, somehow, had no second thoughts in letting me know that I was worth every second of that suffering He took. I melted.

Opportunities would rise more and more as I invited people into the house we were co-laboring in—and I was excited that they were going to see what we were making (more like what He was making but I had the fun of "helping")! Cancer stricken friends would come over and I would have to test the floorboards of my faith, jumping on them. And, there He was. He knew I only had the power He carried so He always remained close, keeping the lights on, stepping in and proving the impossible to be just a normal day in living life. The more people I invited the more I realized I they were only coming to see Him, which made it easier for me. I was the honored host, He did the rest—and I got to enjoy their company. The floorboards have never broken and He has assured me that they never will break as long as I keep letting Him add more, and keep our house busy with people that needed His touch. To this day, it seems that the more people He invites, the more space we have. Our House keeps getting bigger even though one would think the space constricts when guests are over. Nope. Not Jesus’ house. Not His dimensions. It just expands.

“You’re home as long as you remain in Me. I will always chase after you, but this is home.” He said.

“My house will never fall—I delight in what we have made. My Presence is the Power that lights it up in the neighborhood. Since I made you I knew everything you would love I would love as we stay close, Beloved. I have redeemed it all; nothing filthy has the ability to stay when I walk into the room.”

I don’t let Him leave—He reminds me that I am still the one who is the renting the Home He made and that He won’t overstay His welcome as the Landlord…but I cling to Him in that He knows He is always welcome. I hug Him tight—

And, He remains. He has not left.

His Spirit now is not only in me as the Owner of the Home, but upon me as the welcomed Guest that knows the strength of my extended invitation. He’s teaching me how to install more components of our home. We always have hot running water. If the water isn’t running, it’s only because I did not invite Him to turn it on…and you know what happens when you don’t have running water.

He will stay as the active Power through your house as long as you keep an open invitation—giving Him ownership is beautiful, but He is that much of a gentleman that He won’t invade your space as the renter of His home. He had to pin me in to remind me that He missed coming over, and then decided He didn’t like what I was doing with the place so He rebuilt it with me. Yes, WITH ME.

Since He made His kids with beautiful ideas (because He is a beautiful Father), He likes to see us ask Him about them, and He delights in that role He designed as a Father and collaborator with His messy little ones. If you had a child, you would want to hear their desires, right? What if you put the desires in them, you would want to hear what they had to say about them, wouldn’t you? How much more does the Father seek to hear about what we’re thinking but keeping from Him?! A whole lot more…and He’s a whole lot more fun to consult with because His resources are unlimited. I’m just saying.

Invite the Carpenter to rebuild with you. He misses you and has a whole lot to say…but not over coffee; as a co-missioned lifestyle in the Power of His Presence invading every neighborhood. So wild, so free...so beautiful, always.