I am [Reminders.]

I exist. This is a thought that struck me last night while I was at Shift (the Cru weekly meeting at the University of Minnesota). We were singing "Like an Avalanche" by Hillsong United, and the words "I am" hit home.

♫ Take my life
Take all that I am
With all that I am I will love You ♫

These two simple words have duel meaning for me. And my heart felt both of them as we sang aloud in the Great Hall of Coffman.

I am. I exist. I'm alive. Don't ask me why I needed to be reminded of that. Maybe because I was feeling swallowed by the amount of homework I'd done the past two days. I'd been away from people (for the most part) reading and reading and reading. That had been my focus. The two days prior to that, I'd been so saturated by people time that I was going crazy. I'm an introvert.

Anyway, I still existed. But more than that. I'm alive. I'm living. This implies so much more action! It's so much more significant. And if I'm giving myself to God, shouldn't it be more than just existing? More than just surviving?

How does one do that? How do you become more? Especially when we are to become less?

"He must become greater; I must become less." - John 3:30 (quote from John the Baptist)

As always, it's all wrapped together perfectly. Because the second meaning of "I am" is God Himself, of course.

"Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” - Exodus 3:13-14

God is the great I AM. He's the only existence. We are nothing apart from Him. We are not without Him.

My thoughts were drawn to Him, right where they should've been all along the past 4 days. How could I so quickly have forgotten and overlooked the very One who gave me life?

And that's when Jesus gently reminded me:

"I am the Giver of life. You feel drained? Let me pour life back into you, my beautiful child, my wonderful creation."

Are you kidding me? I'm not sure if my feet were still on the floor after that. I felt my soul, my heart, my very self lifted at that moment. Full. It took no time at all for Him to gently brush away the worries from my week.

I am. I only am because of I AM. In Him, my being is satisfied.

Love.