Pamela Hogan

“You’ve been here the whole time!” I could see it clearly. 
 
The calm, glowing One smiled, and all of a sudden, I knew. It hadn’t been fear telling me not to get on the boat, scaring me away from the fun. It was Jesus trying to spare me the agony of this trip because . . . because He loves me? Yes, He loves me! 
 
And there I’d stood, as if I’d had my hand on His chest, pushing Him away. What was I doing? Seeing Him now, I realized we’d been stuck in this pose a long time. I hadn’t wanted Him to go in case I needed Him, but I hadn’t wanted Him to come inside and control me. 
 
Ever so patiently—suspended in time, but oh-so-very present—Jesus held out His hand and invited me to dance. 
 
“Yes,” I yielded, and something so much more peaceful than peace settled inside even though the storm still raged, and the circumstances hadn’t budged. “Let’s dance.” 
 
Embraced in His arms, I fell asleep—even in the midst of those crazy waves. ”
― Elizabeth Bristol, Mary Me: One Woman’s Incredible Adventure with God

“ . . . since God’s God, I assumed He could hear me, so I’d ask Him what He thought. And here’s the weird part, I’d pick up a book, a box of cereal, or catch a random conversation at the gym and hear what felt like His next line in our conversation! It was wild. ”
― Elizabeth Bristol, Mary Me: One Woman’s Incredible Adventure with God

“As the native drum kept rhythm with the nighttime symphony of the African bush, the cry of a hyrax (a small, furry animal that sounded a lot scarier than it looked) pierced the night. A hyena howled. A warthog ran through our camp. What was he running from? Sitting in front of my tent, I tried to figure everything out. I wouldn’t have called what I did prayer but maybe wonder. 
 
Night after night, I’d listened to the rush of a river or watched my own personal light show as lightning spider-webbed across the heavens, danced in the distance, and serenaded me with a muffled growl. Until a crash—so loud it seemed to break the sky—caused me to twitch as a shiver ran up my spine. 
 
“You know how it is when you feel someone staring at you from across the room?” I said to Truth. “You turn to meet the gaze. It was like that, but I saw no one. I just felt a comforting presence as we sat together in silence.” 
 
“You think it was God?” she asked. 
 
“Yeah, but I called him Fred. Not so overwhelming, more personal.” ”
― Elizabeth Bristol, Mary Me: One Woman’s Incredible Adventure with God

“I never expected this ride to include God, but His radical love and acceptance blew me away. Nothing else mattered, like who I was or what I’d done. He saw it all and still, He loved me. ”
― Elizabeth Bristol, Mary Me: One Woman’s Incredible Adventure with God