Before We Begin
This closing reflection gathers together the images and themes from a journey that began with Mark My Doorway Again. If this is your first stop along the way, I hope it stands on its own. But if it leaves you wanting to linger a little longer, I invite you to begin at the beginning and walk the journey one reflection at a time.
My prayer is that, somewhere along the path, you’ll discover what I did: that every doorway, every river, every stone, every garden—and every quiet act of love—has been quietly bearing witness to the Father’s heart all along.
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When I first began writing these reflections, I thought they were about doorways.
And rivers.
And stones.
And gardens.
Somewhere along the way, I realized they were really about Someone.
Each image became another window through which the Father quietly revealed His heart.
By the time I reached the end of the journey, I found myself looking less at the symbols…
and more at the One they had been pointing toward all along.
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The longer we walked together, the more one quiet pattern began to emerge.
Love always moved first.
It still does.
Before anyone knocked,
Love marked the doorway.
Before anyone crossed,
Love entered the waters.
Before anyone remembered,
Love prepared a way to remember.
Before shame spoke,
Love spoke a better word.
Before death seemed final,
Love gathered the ashes.
Before fear overwhelmed,
Love stood in the deepest part of the river.
Before Mary recognized the Gardener,
Love called her name.
Before the prodigal reached home,
Love was already running.
Grace was always ahead of us.
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That is what the Father’s love looks like.
Not distant.
Not reluctant.
Not waiting to be convinced.
Always moving toward His children.
Always going first.
Always making a way.
Always welcoming.
Near the end of His earthly ministry, Philip made a request that has echoed through the centuries:
“Lord, show us the Father…”
Jesus answered with words that have quietly shaped every page of these reflections:
“Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.”
— John 14:9
He did not merely come to tell us about the Father.
He came to show us what the Father’s love has always looked like.
Every river.
Every sacrifice.
Every stone.
Every garden.
Every open doorway.
Every one of them quietly bears witness to Him.
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When I was little, my father taught me to stop.
To kneel.
To notice.
To look again.
For years I thought he was teaching me how to see creation.
Only much later did I realize he was also teaching me something about its Creator.
Love pays attention.
Love lingers.
Love delights in what others overlook.
Perhaps that is because Love made the world that way.
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If these reflections have done anything, I hope they have done more than help you understand Scripture more deeply.
I hope they have helped you see the Father more clearly.
Because once you begin to recognize His heart, you start seeing traces of Him everywhere.
In doorways.
In rivers.
In stones.
In gardens.
In flowers climbing old stone walls.
In birds that pause just long enough to be noticed.
The whole world begins quietly bearing witness to Him.
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So if you take anything with you from these pages,
I hope it is this:
The Father has always been moving toward His children.
Long before we thought to seek Him,
He was already seeking us.
He has been calling His children home from the very beginning.
Long before we found our way home,
He was already on the road.
Watching.
Waiting.
Running.
Open arms have always been His posture.
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And before we part, may I leave you with one final blessing.
May these pages never become the end of your journey, but the beginning of seeing His love everywhere you look.
And perhaps, before long,
you’ll find yourself doing what my father taught me to do.
Stopping.
Smiling.
Looking again.
Because the world has been quietly bearing witness to Him all along.
And once you begin to recognize the Father’s heart…
you begin seeing Him everywhere.
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Thank you for walking with me.
Grace and peace,
Gilda
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This is so incredibly beautiful!! You did it again. 🥹 massaged my heart with your words that are clearly divinely shaped, and delivered. I love this much needed reminder of His love and presence going before me in every single way. 🙏🏾☺️
I love this thought, that God and his love go first. God initiates. He sees. He notices and wants us to notice. Love notices. Love lingers. Love pays attention. Such a remarkable picture of God that we don't get much of the time. I notice when people are that way. Very much after the image of God.