jesus is pretty awesome

i'm not sure if i've mentioned it, but i am currently in school at liberty university.
i'm finishing up my degree in religion with a minor in christian counseling.
i figure with as much time as i spend at church since my hubby works at/with them, i might as well major in it too haha.

so on our 12 hour road trip to georgia last week i had some time to do homework. one of the classes i'm currently in is dissecting the new testament.
so we were looking at a passage that i have read so many times before.
i love how god can take something we've always seen and make something new out of it just when our heart needs it.

this particular passage spoke to my heart in such magnitude, and i'm going to do my best to translate it here.
ever have something you want to share, but can't quite get it from your brain to your mouth?
yeah, well that's where i've been camping out the last few days!

i also think it's appropriate since easter is right around the corner.

ok, let's venture back to the tomb of jesus (john 20:11-18). the morning of the 3rd day after jesus was crucified, mary magdalene went to the tomb only to find it empty. she was outside the tomb crying because he was missing, when someone asked her why she was crying. now she did not know it was jesus that was talking to her. so she asks him where he put jesus.

now this is the part that gets me to the core.
he said, "mary."
she instantly turned to him and cried out "rabboni".

all he had to say was her name and she instantly knew it was him.
now, it's common knowledge that jesus knows his people.
but i think we forget that we know his voice.

how often do we get so caught up in our own lives that jesus is standing right in front of us and we miss him? and honestly, how gut wrenching is it when he calls our name to get our attention?

like i said earlier, i can't fully express in words how this has affected me.
i can only imagine the feeling mary had when she heard jesus say her name.
they were friends and very close...i'm sure he had a way of saying her name like no one else.
my mom for instance, said my name like no one else. if i was blindfolded and heard her call, i would instantly know it was her.
i imagine when jesus said "mary" an adrenaline rush like no other occurred.

i want to be that close to jesus, that when he says my name, i instantly know it's him.
but more than that, i don't want to miss him.
i don't want to miss the things he's trying to tell me; when he's right in front of me talking and i totally miss it.

i'm so grateful that jesus knows me and that i know him.
i'm grateful that i'm a sheep that knows the voice of my shepherd...and i will follow wherever it is that he may lead me.