Into a Spacious Place

"You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place." - Ps. 31.8

"He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me." - Ps. 18:19

Lately I have been thinking about this "spacious place" Paul writes about in Psalms. What does he mean? What does it look like? I know that Paul went through some significant sufferings when his adversaries were after his life. I wonder if Paul's spacious place was a place that was devoid of all enemies, where he could find complete safety in the arms of God.

Does God have a spacious place set aside for each of us? When I think about this place, I think of the view from a plane's window while traveling at high altitudes. I love to look out and see a bed of clouds that look like gigantic pillows. They are surrounded by absolutely nothing but the empty, spacious blue sky. I think of my spacious place as such a place w/out worries, w/out the pressures of this world, w/out accusations, w/out brokenness.

It helps me sleep at night to close my eyes and put myself in this place. I picture Jesus walking steadily towards me, to meet me in this serenity. Just me and Him. I try my hardest to touch his robe, to sense the power of this friend who desperately wants to meet with me.

I like this spacious place. What is your's?

Richmond...the new Blacksburg?

I am writing this from the career services building on campus in Blacksburg (Virginia Tech). Yesterday evening we had a recruiting social event for my company at Bogen's restaurant. I was a big fan of the free food, but I was much more excited about what was to come afterwards.

At 8:45pm I met up with 12 friends from Homegroup at Macado's, the best restaurant in Bburg. There I was, sitting at a table with some of my closest friends. I almost teared up when I said a prayer before dinner, thanking God for this community of friends. It honestly felt like a glimpse of heaven as I looked around to see these children of God who are head over heals in love with Jesus and with each other. There we were laughing and enjoying each other's company, and I am confident that God had a smile on his face.

Afterwards I went to my buddies Josh, Gary & Joel's place for some no-messin'-around foosball. I was a little nervous as these guys have been playing like woah and I haven't been around a foosball table much since moving to Richmond. But it worked out well; I ended up 5 and 1. I'll take that ;-)

About the title of this blog entry... I'm realizing it's not that it's the town of Blacksburg that makes this place so perfect, it's more of the community I have found here. So many times I find myself longing to be back here and relive everything about VT, but I don't think that's the best move. I'm giving it time, but I am looking forward to finding in Richmond what I have come to love here in Blacksburg. It'll happen, because I think that's how God designed us, to live in community with others. Richmond will some day become the new Blacksburg, straight up.