My goodness if I’ve learned anything at all in my lifetime it’s that when God presses on your heart to do something, do it. The rewards are much greater than the regret. Let me tell you I have regret about things I should have done but chose not to step out of my box and do. Once I’ve learned to live and let God lead, life is grand! I make mistakes e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y but I know the one who forgives! The hardest thing to do is either forgive myself or the one who wrongs me. How much time have I wasted on my own hurt feelings? Too much!
Every morning I start my day the same way. I am a creature of habit and a little OCD. 😆 I read my Bible, do a sudoku, do Wordle and then read my e-edition of the Augusta Chronicle – obituaries first (it’s a nurse thing). During this time Tal will get to stirring around and bring me a cup of coffee. I do all of this while sitting up in bed. I don’t want to get out and walk around, I just want to start my day off the same way every morning. This morning these words kept running through my mind – invest in the future.
Shouldn’t we, as Christians, be investing in the future? I hear and have even said “I know the ending of the story” but what about the middle? How am I making a difference in the middle of God’s story? He put me here for such a time as this and what am I supposed to do to share His mercy and grace? Have you watched the news lately or even watched the videos that pop up on social media? My generation has failed in the part of sharing God’s mercy and grace! I need to tied up my boot straps and get to working!
It only takes a generation to forget how things are done! I remember my grand parents and how they did things that might have taken longer than we do now. The difference was there was no instant gratification through a cell phone or social media. We had to talk about it, figure it out through trial and error. I cherish those memories. Nowadays you have family meals and only see the top of the kids heads because they are buried in a tablet or cell phone. Will they even have any memories of us? Nope! If we don’t make specific time without technology we will not be more than a picture or granite marker one generation from now.
Ok I’m rambling but here is my point. Do you attend church? Are you active in things church offers? Why not? You have too much going on in life to make the time? Company is coming and you have to cook and clean? It’s the only time you can play golf or hunt? Wait, it’s your only day off so you want to rest? Is that it? The Bible tells us in Genesis that even God rested on the Sabbath day. But here is the thing, the other seven days God worked to create a beautiful world for us to live in. What are we doing to share His glory, mercy and grace to the next generation? This world is lost, dying and going to hell if we, the body of believers in Jesus Christ don’t stand for what we believe in. Jesus died for you and me alike – sinners and nothing more. We were born to sin but through his grace and mercy on the cross we can live knowing we are forgiven. Shouldn’t we share that with others?
Tal and I moved across the county from the home where we raised our children and lived for the last 28 years. We moved into his grandparents farm house. It’s much smaller, simpler and quieter than living at the lake. A lot has changed, my community, our marriage, our lives and our priorities. It’s been a lot but the one thing that has been steady and unwavering is God. He is my constant. He has been pressing me for months to “move” and I am the one that has been trying to not make changes. I don’t like anything about change. I’ve tried everything to see what He has meant by “move” until it clicked. He has new plans for me, greater plans for my life. Will they be easy? Absolutely not! It’s going to take quite a bit of work and I will be stepping back from something I’ve been doing for 24 years! I’ve cried many tears but I know God’s plan is greater than mine and as long as He gives me the strength to share Him with the world I plan on being His hands and feet to those around me.
If you have read this far, thanks but I have a challenge for you. Make time for God in your life, invest in the future, be active in church and if you don’t attend regularly find a church near you to go to. After all, how can you invite your neighbors to church if you aren’t close by? A church isn’t somewhere you just go for one hour a week, it’s where you go to learn, share, love others, get loved on and invest in the future.
Thanks again for reading! ~Melynda