Do you know how lovely it is to forget your camera? I went nearly all the way to Telluride without it. Crisp clear skies paired with beautiful snowy mountains were assuredly picture perfect. The added bonus of an eagle's effortless soar directly across my path made for glorious.
I saw my daughters' baptisms through a camera lens. So too, that split second hand shake and the passing of the diploma to the graduate. It's like I never saw the real event and in its place, the photo becomes the reality, if that makes any sense.
Sometimes the moments are greater when I can just enjoy them, rather than try to capture them on camera. You've probably heard of the little song, "Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, save it for a rainy day." (by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss) We catch the moments and stamp them on our hearts to last forever. That can be the best way.
One memory I never want to forget, however, is the amazing things God does for me, day by day. And so I write them down. I think I could never forget God's workings, yet at times I have. But I try to keep them in my pocket, so to speak.
Yesterday evening I was compelled to write down a God thing. He gave back to me what I had released to Him just a few days before, only in greater measure. I wrestled through Scripture and with writing a fresh lesson. I struggled to stay awake, but the end product was much fuller than it ever was in it's beginnings. And the best part? I know God was in it. He is going before me.
I cannot wait to see what He is going to do this year at our youth winter retreat. So many God things have already happened. For some reason, I'm not yet exactly sure why, God is coinciding, no, bombarding me with His Word from different sources that speak exactly the same thing. This week I am scheduled to teach our elementary school kids about Elisha and the invisible armies of God made visible. That very story was referred to yesterday at my church as well.
God is real. I know it now more than ever before. Oh, I knew it before, but there are times when I am so aware of His presence that I really do not even desire to be on this earth anymore. I have such a longing for heaven. This is what pulls my emotions more than anything. When my mom died, when my sister-in-law died, all I could think of was, "Wow! They are in the very presence of God." At the blink of an eye, they are there. I can't wait for my turn.
This earth will then be only the photo, because heaven is the true reality. Real living will be had in that place. But then again, I get a taste of it here when I embrace the cross of Christ, laying aside my own way, my own selfish desires. That is when I truly live.
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