I pray this post
finds you in a good place after this past week. I pray that you are able to be
thankful and rejoice for yet another day of life and breath. I ask that as you
read this that you think on this past week with a certain awareness of the
simple things that have great value. Also as you ponder another week gone by I
hope you have a sense of those moments that despite their simplicity were
actually sacred.
If you think
about it, each moment we live does not necessarily bleed smoothly into the
next. They are not so much disjointed and completely separate, but instead
could be viewed from the outside looking in as separate acts in a lifelong
play. We face each moment and situation with a chance for making the most of
it, or just going through it on autopilot. We risk either living up to some
sense of greatness or just winging it and missing out on the tremendous power
of an opportunity.
Don’t miss out
on blessings because you simply won’t take the risk of living life as a
participant but instead settle for being a spectator or worse, a victim.
Don’t get me
wrong, I have to own up to sometimes taking what seems to be the easy way out,
and finding myself instead bearing the very real burden of regret. It’s not a
place where we really want to live and I firmly believe that if we stay in this
place, we are in fact not truly living.
Look back on
your week. Can you see the places where our lives intersected the sacred? Can
you see where God spoke to you and let you know that He is very aware of your
struggles, your weaknesses, and your desperate need for His unconditional love?
If you are
like me at all, maybe you watched as others around you said goodbye
(temporarily) to those who they loved and won’t see again until the other side
of eternity. Maybe you instead walked a road of struggle to just put food on
your table and longed for things to just get a bit easier. Or, maybe you had to
take some deep breaths and push into each day as you faced private pain whether
physical or spiritual (though I believe these go hand in hand).
I am sending
this post with prayers attached for the both of us. I never have really had any
easy answers for anyone. Though I am all for positivity and understand that God
has already won the war over death, and pain, and suffering, I know as you do
that this does not mean that we will not face these challenges this side of
heaven. So, again I pray that you can lay your cares at the feet of your (our)
Savior because He has walked our road and lived the realities of living in
these frail bodies that we now dwell in. He knows your heart and mind and He
sees every tear. We are not alone and He is only a prayer away.
To those of
you who have said the hardest goodbyes this week. To you I can only give you
this: What joyful and blessed reunions await you on that day when you too step
over the threshold of this life into the waiting arms of Jesus. I can envision
the hugs, and kisses, and warm welcome from those who we miss dearly when we
meet them again. Until that day, keep singing the songs that remind you of the
same faith that they share with you. Talk about the precious memories, remember
all of the shared moments, and honor their memory. Rejoice that they are now in
the great cloud of witnesses that cheer us on to the finish line of our own lives.
I’ll leave you
with this. I went to the movies this afternoon with my two favorite girls. We
watched the new Disney Cinderella movie. It was really well done and I am still
pondering two things that it left on my mind. First, Cinderella’s mother spoke
a precious legacy into her daughter before she passed away. Her mother said
that no matter what life handed Cinderella, she needed to have courage and she
needed to live in kindness toward others. (Please keep in mind that I know this
is just a fairy tale, but hear me on this: “Never miss the moments in life
where God whispers a truth to your heart, no matter what venue He chooses to
speak to you through, including movies, books, the words of a friend or
stranger, or nature itself.”) There is a brief and poignant moment near the end
of the movie where Cinderella is faced with a choice. She can choose to be
vindictive and possibly in some people’s minds to rightfully berate her wicked
step mother for the years of abuse and lack of love that were unfairly heaped
on Cinderella. Instead, Disney made the choice to have Cinderella simply just
say, “I forgive you.”
Now, for some
in the audience, I am sure this was missed. For myself, I actually caught my
breath at that moment. Those words were and are very powerful. Forgiveness is
extremely powerful! God has forgiven us (if you have accepted Christ as your
Savior that is) for a lifetime of sin. This was and is a very great price that
was paid to cover our shortcomings and failings to live up to God’s requirement
of a sinless and blameless life. We have much to be thankful for!
Again, I ask
you. Look back across this past week and take note of what God has taught you
in every moment you lived. Hear His quiet voice and take to heart the things He
wants you to do in the week ahead that will honor Him.
Run the race
to the finish line! Keep your eyes on the prize of an eternity spent with our
Savior!
In Christ,
Mike Meehan
<><
