Do you have lots of dreams and ideas of places you would like to see or things you would like to do before you die – a “bucket list”, as many say? How do you feel when you hit a season where it seems like you will never be able to see or accomplish many of those things?
My blogs most often come from going back through my journal and finding entries that I think will make for something that may touch someone else’s life or situation. This definitely is one of those times. I was going back though my journal and came upon an entry from a time when I was feeling depressed and discouraged because it seemed like so many of my “bucket list” items were never going to happen – after all, I am almost 60, so “time is running out”, isn’t it?
I know I have mentioned two-way prayer as a way to “dialog” with Abba Father. This particular journal entry involved that process, as many of mine do. In that process Abba reminded me that my home is not this current earth, but the New Jerusalem and the New Earth, and also reminded me that those are the perfection of what we currently see around us. Why am I mourning that I will likely never get to see, in this life, some of what I view as earthly “wonders”, when what is here, now, is a corrupted shadow of the perfection of that creation that will exist in its perfect form, without shadow or corruption, once I have translated to the eternal, spiritual realm in Heaven? And I will have an eternity to see and marvel at them then!
I know that it is all too easy for me to forget that this current life on earth is not my real home or existence. We are sojourners here only, but it is so easy to forget that when we are surrounded by the earthly ‘reality’ of everyday life! As a consequence we get caught up in that is or isn’t happening in our lives and get frustrated or discouraged when things aren’t going the way we hoped or envisioned it would.
Help me, Abba, to remain aware that this earthly life is temporary, and that my real home is with you, in eternity. Yes, there are many things I may do or not do while here, and some (hopefully many, if I am fully surrendered to your Lordship) will have eternal impact. However, that eternity will provide so much more than we can possibly imagine with the human limitations we struggle under here. Help me to rest in the grace filled understanding that, no matter what happens here, now, good or ill, achieving our dreams or not, this earthly life is such a SMALL portion of what we ultimately will view as “our life”, that we can brush off the disappointments and failures as immaterial, because of the surpassing wonder of the totality of what you have, are, and will bless us with as your beloved children. Those wonders and marvels that I wish and dream of seeing will still be there, in even their even better, perfect, state, when I get to Heaven. Thank you, Abba, that your grace is sufficient, and help us to lean into that when we are feeling discouraged or defeated. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Kathy
