that the Father has given to each of us who believe in him today. We
are called to uncover the mysterious love of the Father so that oth-
ers can see him up close and personal. This is what our friend Mar-
shall Craver calls becoming “love with skin on.” It is the
incarnational reality into which God calls each of us.
How does God’s incarnational love become a part of our daily ex-
perience? I believe that each day the Father gives us certain people
to love for him. We may recognize them as “the ones” simply be-
cause they come to mind. When that happens, the Spirit is prompt-
ing us to “become love” to them, to be available to them in their
place of need, to allow Jesus to work through us as he allowed his
Father to work through him.
In my morning prayer time God almost always has someone that
he wants me to love for him that day. It’s exciting—like receiving
marching orders! I keep a box of notepaper with my Bible and I
often write a little note of encouragement to someone he brings to
mind. Or I make a phone call.
Two different years he put my friend Laura Preisendanz’s face in
my mind. When I called her in California, she said, “Claire, you
never forget my birthday!” The truth is, I had no idea it was her
birthday either time, but God knew. He wanted to say “Happy Birth-
day” to his daughter and he used me to do it!
I have often experienced God’s incarnational reality in my own
life. While my dad was in the hospital this year, for instance, our
family felt surrounded by the arms of heaven. Not only did our own
friends and family members uphold us with love and prayer, but
doctors, nurses, aides, physical therapists, and speech therapists
brought God into our situation in very practical ways, ministering
not only to Daddy but to us.
What a joy to know that the Father chooses to be part of our lives
in both the happy times and the hard times, and he will send his
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