God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him ~ John Piper
I love being
outside. Especially on days like these
last few nights. There seems to be a
hallowed hush when it is cold. Watching
the pups sit and watch the sky, listening to the snow crunch under our feet as
we quietly walk along, seeing my breath as I breathe in and out, and
listening….to the silence. I truly savor
and soak in the sacredness of these moments. In these bits of time, I ask my Creator the
mysteries of life and thank Him for choosing to be with me despite my faults.
As I stood outside in the frosty stillness, my mind took me to this past weekend. Yesterday, I got into my
car and was praying, please let me and my car, Blue Belle, get
to our destination in one piece. Over
night, the temperature had drastically dropped and the rain had turned to ice
and the roads were not the best. To me,
it wasn’t just about arriving to my destination, but I was praying for a safe
journey on the way.
I
couldn’t help but think how much this is like our lives. My ultimate destination is to get to Heaven,
to see Jesus, but He wants us to take care on our journey until we finally get
there one day. Yep, I’m going to mess
up. I do every day! Ugh. How I WISH I could learn to keep my mouth
shut more! Think before I speak, be more
patient with myself, with those around me…..take care of the one earthly
journey that we are given. Love more,
because our days are growing shorter and shorter. Getting to the destination is important, but how
I get there, needs to be equally just as important.
Living in this
flesh takes a lot of work at times. It
would be wishful thinking to say that I always use the perfect words, have the patience of Mother Teresa, react
flawlessly when there are ripples and bumps that form in my road of life.......The
truth is, we will get frustrated with each other. We won’t always be happy with our lives. We will wish for better times. Our bodies will turn on us and give aches and
pains that doctors cannot always help or explain. Others will disappoint us, and yes, we will
fail others. We’re human and that makes
us completely capable of messing up royally.
Tonight as I sat
outside, I asked for clarity to it all, once again, as I always do. And once again, He brought me back to my
center…….Jesus. He absolutely,
unequivocally, must be my first thought in all things. He has to be my First
Love, my everything. He is not something
I need to work into my life, but something that must be at the center of all.
He’s not a cliché or a good luck charm.
Having Him requires that we give up everything, and in exchange, gain
everything by being in Him and of Him.
When He is put
first, I will be more careful with my words.
When He has first place, I will do my best to take care of myself. When He is my all, I will care
for those around me. So many things fall
into place when He becomes the foundation of all we do, say, think, and
feel.
It’s easy to forget these lessons in the midst of our days, so I’m asking Him to help me simplify the minutes I've been given. Life gets crazy very quickly! Words are said in impatient moments, mistakes are made...people are hurt. In our quest to be heard, others are silenced......Let's slow down and take care on our journey. We've been given one life to live. And at times, it might feel like a nutty soap opera, but with Him, it will be much richer and fuller than we could have ever imagined.
Help me to realize what I
already have in You, and help me to want no more than You. Open our eyes. We want to see you. First.
