100Years from now

There was a story I read a long time ago about a man bragging to his friend about all of the land and possessions he owned. “See what I own?” he bragged. His friend looked over the fields, meadows, and even a lake with a beautiful home beside it, and replied, ”Do you really own it?  For whose will it be in 100 years?”  That story has always stuck with me, maybe because it is such a hard struggle for me to completely open everything in my heart and hands and hold it out for God to use as He alone sees fit, rather than holding it tightly in my fists for “my plans”. But lately I’ve been thinking of this fact not just regarding material possessions, but my whole life - time, energy, effort, thoughts, ides, dreams.....  for what will any of those matter in 100 years either?  And it is really amazing, sort of “upside down thinking” if I honestly apply it to my whole life. It will not be the “stuff” that matters in one, two, three generations. It will not be my dreams, hopes, or ideas. It won’t be my work, effort, or “accomplishments”. It will only be my love, my character, the “little” things like faithfulness, persistence, compassion, faith in God and His Word lived out Day to Day, that will be passed from one generation to the next to the next...  Even then those values will be changed, dropped, added, revised...  but I think we have lost a sense of the true inheritance given to us, and squandered it like pigs stomping on pearls.  Our forefathers shaped us much more than just genetically or culturally or through family ties. And each of us can choose to add beauty, compassion, forgiveness, love, and a multitude of valuable assets into the “bank” or we can squander our inheritance and bankrupt the next generation. Debt, literal and figurative debt, is a chain of slavery from which I want my children to be free.

Help us, O Lord of the harvest, Lord of our hearts and minds, Lord of all creation and Lord of time, to pass along the things that truly matter and let go of all of the rest, leaving a pure and beautifully rich inheritance for the next generations. Amen.

You say it offends you.....

You say it offends you......
But how can a drowning man
fail to sing the praises
Of the lifeguard that rescued him?
How can the mother whose
baby was snatched out of a fire
Not shout the name of the rescuer?
How can the prisoner not tell
Of the wonderful Counselor
Who led him to true freedom?
How can the dying patient
Be silent about the Healer
Of heartbreak and deep terminal wounds?
How could she whose home was
Shattered by her own foolishness
Not proclaim the wonders
Of Him who repaired and restored
and paid for it all Himself?
So I cannot keep silent.
I must declare the name of the One
who does more than all
Of these put together
Not to offend you
But to share His love with you
And to glorify His name.

I'm a Runaway Bride

Sometimes I am astounded at the lengths those I love will go to to try to "hide" from me.  Sure, I've been a lousy, controlling, distant, hovering, make ever mistake in the book kind of parent or friend (yes, I recognize many of these traits are contradictory but hey, I've had years of practice on multiple children so I can do that!). But still.  They shouldn't doubt that in my messed up way I love them - always have, always will kind of love. And yet, I watch grown loved ones revert back to the toddler "hide behind the couch and grunt and Mom won't know you're making a mess" kind of thinking - so I am astounded.  Don't they know we know - and yet love them still?  Then here it comes from left field - those smack me in the face lessons - don't I run from the One who loves me - and His is perfect love!?  When I falter, or worse still, choose selfish destructive things over His beautiful and perfect will, I run behind the couch as if He won't see.  Or worse, crawl under the couch convinced He would never want me again. So my prayer for this year is to set the example - grow up, face up, soak up His love. And then reach out with loving arms to the other ones behind the couch.