Your Last Moment

When a tragedy happens we always talk about last words, the last time you saw someone, the last moment...

As you go through life you begin to collect last moments.  The last hug from my Grandma Lucile.  The last smile from my Grandma Dee.  There are many of these last moments I can list.

The problem with last moments is that you don't know which one will be the last one.  As I go through my days, I talk to my parents, my husband, my children, I have begun to look at our conversation differently.  What if THESE words are our last conversation?  What if THIS hug is our last touch? 

Will your last moment be a moment filled with love or a moment corrupted with selfishness?

As I begin to look at each moment I pray that God will help me to take advantage of each moment.  I hope to have many many more moments with my friends and family, but I want to act like each moment is my last so that when the last moment comes it will be one filled with love.

Blessings

Sometimes God speaks to us in different ways.  We hear His voice in His word, we hear His voice in a sermon, we hear His voice in silence, and sometimes we hear His voice in a song. 

Mercies in disguise... could it be that all these trials frustrations in our lives could be Gods mercies in disguise.  What is His plan for us?  Have you ever prayed that prayer, God what is your plan for my life?  The thing is, if we read His word, we know His plan for us.  He has only 1 plan, He wants to mold us into His Image.  All of the details of how He gets us there is different for everyone, but the plan is always the same. 

He cares for us and stands with us in these moments of pain, fear, joy, every situation you have been in, He is there in every situation, in every decision, in every single moment of every single day.

So, when you hear the song Blessings I challenge you to really listen to the words.  See how God is working in your life to mold you into His Image. 

As I have prayed for things in my life I have been frustrated when I was not answered in the way I wanted, but when I look back I can see His Mercies and His Grace.

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
And all the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your word is not enough
And all the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not,
This is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near

What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

Things we think we know

Remember that time when you were a young couple... you were sitting in a restaurant or walking in the store and you saw "that mom" or "that dad" or even "that couple" that had a 2 year old child that was throwing a HUGE fit.  And you said the words that go something like this "our child will NEVER act that way.  We will discipline our children!"

Then the day comes, you have this beautiful baby.  They are everything you ever dreamed of.  You say no as they grow and you ARE using discipline and love.  Your child grows and learns and is just as amazing as they can be... and then they turn 2.  You are now "that mom" , "that dad", or "that couple" that is walking through the store with your very own well behaved 2 year old child.  And then it happens, your child decides, for no apparent reasons, that they want their way.  They proceed to throw themselves into a fit to end all fits. 

You then realize something you didn't know before.  Sometimes a 2 year old child ACTS like a 2 year old child.  This is not because  you are a bad parent, they are a bad child, or because you do not disciplined your child, it is because at some point every 2 year old acts like a 2 year old.

I have found in my life that I have had to learn this lesson more than one time.  I now have teenagers that ACT like teenagers.  This is both exciting and frustrating. 

Now for what I know... I know that my amazing children sometimes get frustrated with life.  I know that they sometimes make questionable decisions.... I also know that they make the amazing choices and I look at them and think, what are you 30... I see them choosing to love the Lord and follow Him, I see them making good choices and serious life choices that show grace and maturity beyond their years.

So, yes, I had 2 year olds that lay kicking and screaming in Walmart, but now I have these amazing young women who have compassion for other, drive to accomplish goals, and beauty that radiates from inside of them and far outweighs any physical beauty they may have.

I love you Emma and Abigail, God has big plans for you both... follow Him!