A Visit Back to Bethel

Today is a journey to Bethel. My mind, heart, and soul will journey today to my own personal Bethel for a time of remembrance of meeting with God. A day that changed me and my relationship with God forever. There is an unexplainable reverence associated with today. I feel as though I should take off my shoes for it is holy ground I trod.
Bethel was a special place for Jacob. It marked the place where he met with God. It was a place of spiritual commitment for Jacob. It was a place where God gave him dreams and promises.
My Bethel is similar for it was there that I met with God. It was the place where God made a covenant with me. It was a place where God asked me to dream dreams that I could not comprehend or think to dream on my own. It was a day when He handed me a promise when all my other promises were broken.
My Bethel is the place where the God of glory, the Creator of the universe, otherwise known as my heavenly Daddy, reached down and held His baby girl. In my life I have been blessed to witness the presence of the Holy Spirit, but never in my life have I ever felt like I could touch Him. The Peace that came that day was truly beyond understanding. He was patient as I struggled to see the beauty in the ashes.
For me, Bethel is a place of affirmations, altars, and assurance. It was there that He affirmed who I was in Him. He affirmed His love for me and His presence.
It was there that I erected a spiritual altar. For me, November 5th represents the day that God met with me in a different way for the first of many meetings. Many times I find myself at that altar, thanking Him again for showing me the beauty in the ashes, joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness.
My Bethel is a place of blessed assurance. A trip to Bethel reminds me of my Daddy's love and unending grace. Going back to Bethel reminds me that He is never too busy to run to me when I call. It was there that He assured me that His promises are faithful and true. He reminded me that the dream was still alive and that I was still to be its dreamer.
So this second anniversary of my Bethel, I approach the altar in awe and wonder. There is no place for shoes here, for it is holy ground on which I stand. I come into the presence of the Most High God with an overflowing heart of gratitude. I find myself kneeling, and then the need to fall on my face in worship to a God who cares about His baby girl enough to run and take her in His arms.
On this visit to Bethel, I must renew my commitment to Him and to His call. I must no longer be a slave to fear, but devoted to the service of my God.