Value

Lately I have been pondering the things that we seem to value in this life.  Beauty, intelligence, athletic prowess, and wealth are some of the attributes that seem to be important if we are going to amount to anything.  They are also all things that are fleeting and, when all is said and done, won't amount to much.  I'm pretty certain that when we stand before God one day, He will not inquire about how fast we can run or what our IQ is or be amazed at how natural our plastic surgery looks.  I'm thinking He is going to ask, "What did you do for ME?"  That is what gives me purpose and makes it possible for me to tolerate this messed up world in which we live.  We are missing the point on SO many things! 

This has been a week of disappointments for some of the people in this house.  As a mama, I want to protect my kids from pain and hurt, but I know that I can't do that.  Right after our oldest son was born, I remember the nurse coming in to do some testing which required poking his heel and taking blood.  He cried as if his heart was breaking and I cried right along with him.  I didn't want anyone to hurt my baby and I still feel that same way! 

We have talked this week about how it is the difficult things in life that help us grow.   While it may hurt deeply at the time, we come out on the other side stronger if we allow God to work in us.  We talked, too, about that fact that even though we pray for things, God doesn't always answer in the way we think He should.  But He is God and He sees the whole picture, not just the tiny piece that we can see.  It is so much better to trust Him than to try to make things happen on our own.  I pray that my children grasp that concept early in their lives.  I also pray that they will learn to find their identity in their Creator and not in the standards of this world.

James 1:2-4  Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.



I have written before about the song Blessings by Laura Story.  It is a beautiful song and I love the last lines, in particular:

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 raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And 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
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise


Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Lord, may we hunger and thirst for you and you alone!