Today I finished reading the New Testament. This is a task that proves in and of itself the power of the Holy Spirit. I am a working Mama who is cranky in the morning. It has to be due to supernatural strength and not my own that I have been able to get up at 5am to have time to read day after day. Tomorrow I will get my cranky butt out of bed again and somehow as I read and pray I will come closer to being the woman I am designed to be.
Anyway, I finished it today and happened to reach the end of a journal at the same time. So what was the overall message I received on the end of this journey?
This...
I have the courage to write these words. The courage to share my terrible handwriting with you. The courage to face whatever God sends my way. The courage to share His truth. The courage to share this sketch with you.
I made this a year or so ago and have been wanting to share it but did not know how nor did I have the courage to for some reason. It is not to scale and could be prettier. (Maybe I'll work on that.) The point is, it needs to be shared because it shows what is more important than anything. It shows that your life, right now, being kind of hungry or slightly too hot; worried about money or a relationship; battling sickness or missing someone you will never see again; whatever your hardship no matter how hard it is, it is fleeting. On the same not no matter how good life is, it too is fleeting. How you spend this fleeting life matters. Jesus is the only one who can save you. He already did. He is the only one who can restore you and give you an eternity of real life the way it is meant to be lived. Loving Jesus and courageously showing others His love is all that matters.
This is obviously only part of the conversation. If you have questions, great! Ask away because I have questions too and maybe we can find answers together.
I'll get off my soap box now and leave you with a poem by Nelle D. Bradley. It says how I want to live my life. I hope you join me.
Hold high the torch of beauty, truth, and love!
You did not light its glow-
'Twas given you by other hands, you know.
'Tis yours to keep it burning bright,
Yours to pass on when you no more need light;
For there are other feet that we must guide;
And other forms go marching by our side;
Their eyes are watching every tear and smile,
And efforts which we think are not worthwhile,
Are sometimes just the very helps they need,
Actions to which their souls would give most heed;
so that in turn they'll hold it high, and say,
"I watched someone else carry it this way."
If brighter paths should beckon you to choose,
Would your small gain compare with all you'd lose?
Hold high the torch of beauty, truth, and love!
You did not light its glow-
'Twas given you by other hands, you know.
I think it started down its pathway bright,
The day our Maker said: "Let there be light."
And He once said, who hung on Calvary's tree-
"Ye are the light of the world." Go! ... Shine for me.
