Love...
Lately, I find myself feeling as though Hosea must have...loving someone who does not love you back. Hosea did not give up on his love. Even though he was hurt and cried out in anguish, he fought for love when the Lord told him to. I, however, want to give up on love. I don't think I can bear the pain much longer. No one likes rejection. Much less the constant thought of rejection tearing you open at every rememberance of it. I just wonder the worth of it all.

Helpless....


Hosea must have felt quite helpless as the realization sunk in that his wife left him in order to be a prostitute. Here he was, a father to three children (2 not his own) with no support. The woman he loved was gone. His family had fallen apart. A heartbroken Hosea cried out "For she is not my wife, and I am not her husband; And let her put away her harlotry from her face" (Hosea 2:2). Lately, I too have felt like Hosea. My family has fallen apart. "One" so caught up in playing the "harlot" that the realization of hurt and betrayal have not sunk in. But Hosea also give me hope. He did not turn his back on Gomer completely. Hosea eventually bought and restored Gomer, as did the Lord to Israel. So, it will be my prayer that restoration and healing will come to my family for the glory of the Lord.

Refuge

That word has popped into my mind often lately. When I take my dog for a walk in the mornings, there is a little spot I like to stop by that is my refuge. In that place is the perfect embodiment of refuge in the Lord. There is peace, tranquility, and escape from the pressures of the world. Another great place of refuge for me has been parks, especially ones with lakes. There is such joy in the quiet rest of a lake or river. Lately, it seems as though I cannot do anything right. It is in theses refuges that calm and assurance overflows my soul and the Spirit tells me that I don't have to get it right, I only have to trust in Him, who has already "gotten it right". I find it interesting that Gomer left the refuge of Hosea's love for fleeting worldly lust and pleasure and wound up empty, used, and broken. Hosea did not cast her off but welcomed her back into his refuge. Like Gomer, I too often run from the refuge of the Lord but of how sweet are His arms welcoming me back under the umbrella of His love!

What's in a name?
One might wonder why I choose the alias of Gomer Hosea. It is a symbol of the most beautiful yet tragic love stories known-or not so known. Hosea (which means salvation) is a farmer and a preacher. He marries a woman named Gomer. They have a son together. Everything seems perfect...until she has two more children that do not belong to Hosea. You see Gomer is what our culture knows as a prostitute. She leaves the comfort and security of Hosea's love for prostitution. Hosea is left with a broken heart and and three children to raise alone. The story does not end there. We find Gomer in a sticky situation. She is on an auction block-like a oiece of meat-waiting to be bought. The one who buys her is none other than Hosea himself, who sold everything he had in order to buy her and love her again. This story is a perfect picture of God's unfailing love for us. We are adulterous prostitutes who theough we intially accept God's love, we throw it in His face when we choose to love the world and the things in the world more than Him. Yet, He gave His all-His perfect Son-to win back our love. We are unclean and undeserving yet God offers us His love and His salvation through Jesus Christ. Gomer means complete. We are only truly complete in God's love. I am Gomer who is loved by Hosea.