Loving and Living

My daughter recently learned that she can not take her stuffed baby to heaven and it crushed her heart. She is beautiful and sensitive, and loves her baby deeply. She is attached to an earthly comfort. A small stuffed animal she has slept with since birth.

It is more than just a toy to her, it is also a source of comfort and security. I don't see anything wrong with this at her age because I know that God will work this out in her heart as she grows and matures in life and faith.

As I tried to relate and encourage her, I realized we do the very same thing as grownups.

We work and earn, save and build, tightly hold on to things that can't go any further than deaths doorstep. We fall in love with the temporal and forget the eternal. We find comfort and security in earthly things instead of the creator and giver of all things.

I am grateful for the blessings and delights that come our way, but we have to remember what truly counts. As we work, earn, save, and build, we can not lose sight of the end; the eternal.

All you can take to heaven is people. I desire and pray for God to use me to do just that. It's so easy to follow the world and get caught up in the cycle of obtaining more, more, more.  But we have to step out, break free, be different, and make the most of every gift. Rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of Jesus' death and resurrection on the cross, to lead and guide us each day.

What I really want more of is true, abundant life. Life that comes from watching and being a part of God working every day. In the lives of my children, family, friends, community...

It may be as simple as bringing joy to the elderly, a smile to the grieving, comfort to the hurting, or direction to the lost. Every day is filled with endless opportunities.

My greatest joy is watching God transform a life. Sometimes it has taken years of prayers. Other times it has happened over night.

Never lose hope for the people you love. Never forget the power of prayer. People are most important. That is the only thing we can take with us to heaven. Never stop praying.  My husbands grandfather came to know the Lord at 75 years old.  Prayer is powerful.

I encourage you this week to listen to the Holy Spirit and follow where he leads. Maybe he is asking you to take some one to lunch. Maybe he wants you to visit a family member or reconcile a relationship. Maybe he wants you to invite someone to experience the love, forgiveness, and grace of Jesus Christ. Maybe he wants you to pray for someone.

Just ask him...Humble your heart, slow down, and ask him.

 Then, listen and obey.