The Sea Could Bring You A Sail

Changes are a comin'. Lately I've been thinking about one of my favorite scenes from the movie Castaway when Tom Hanks' character returns home and is talking to a friend about how he stayed alive on the island. He says, “And I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?” So much great insight to take away from that movie, and you know a film is good when it holds your attention despite only having one actor throughout most of it and when it makes you cry over a volleyball floating away (Yes, I admit, I mourned Wilson, okay? I had imaginary friends as a kid. Give me a break.), but the reason I was reminded of that particular scene is because I've been focusing quite a bit on the future.

I'd forgotten how hard it is to feel so tired all the time. I'm thankful we got to take a beach vacation this year because I needed the rest. Oh, how I envy those women who consistently work out and have plenty of energy throughout their entire pregnancies. All three times I have had grand plans of doing just that, and all three times I've had to laugh at myself when I have to go sit down after climbing a flight of stairs. I'm still getting stuff done, just not at the pace I'm used to. I'm being forced to remember that slowing down isn't a bad thing. It's making me see what's right in front of me and letting me know that it will be gone tomorrow. 

It's more than just the fact that we have a third child on the way, though that's definitely enough to get a person thinking about how things are about to change...A LOT. It's that life is always changing. The slowing down has at least allowed me to notice how much the little ones I already have are morphing.

 

 They are maturing.

I offered to get Hannah her cereal one morning:

“No, thanks. I like to get it because it makes me feel like a big girl.”

“Ok.”

She paused and looked at me shyly. “But thank you for serving. I don't want you to feel like I don't want you to get it anymore.”

How did she know? Does she sense how hard it is for mommies to let go sometimes? Does she also see how happy and proud I am to see her growing up, even though I want to keep her little for as long as I can?

She's my big girl, bigger every day.

They are learning.

Abram has been interested in rhyming words lately. “Mommy, what rhymes with zag? Jag?” “Yes.” “Does bag?” “Yes.” “Does Jean-Luc?”

(No, and perhaps we should find Daddy something else to watch on Netflix besides Star Trek...)

They are both learning so much every day, and I love seeing the world through their eyes. Do they know how much they also teach me?

They are growing up. They are loving each other. We're building this life one day at a time.

Hannah will start school in the fall. Abram will be a big brother soon. I'll (hopefully) get some energy back, but my hair will keep graying, our kids will keep growing, this life will keep spinning, and as long as we're on this earth, nothing remains the same.

Uncharted territory lies before us - that's what all of life is. I don't know what the future holds, but I know that I gotta keep breathing. Today only lasts one day. Tomorrow the tide could bring something that changes my course forever.

31 Days Of Strength In Scripture: An Eternal Perspective

I have been through different seasons in my walk with God. There have been times when it was dry and dusty, and I thirsted for water that I couldn't find, times when the sun shone and the path was beautiful, and times when I thought the cold would swallow me up. There were times when I led the way and He stayed ten paces behind, and times when I felt closer to Him than anyone else. What a difference the right focus makes. When I am consistent in my pursuit for God's will in my life, when I am not concerning myself with the trivial issues of this world, when I am setting myself aside (man, that's a hard one), I truly am a different person.

No one can serve two masters. “...for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” - Matthew 6:21

The Bible tells us to store up our treasure in heaven and not here on earth, but how can we do that when we are here on earth? It's rarely easy to lay aside what we think we should have in favor of what we truly need, especially since we're constantly surrounded by messages that contradict that particular teaching. But it starts in our minds.

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” - Romans 12: 1-2

I have to change my mind about what matters, sometimes several times a day. Am I presenting my whole body as a sacrifice to God? Or am I worshiping something else entirely? Because it isn't possible to do both. Anything done in this life that has no eternal value is worth nothing. That's a hard pill to swallow when I think about how often I'm engaged in activities that don't matter at all. Yet when I look back on those seasons of my life and consider which ones were the most fruitful, it doesn't make 'renewing my mind' seem all that difficult.

I used to wish I had the superpower to see into the future, but that was because I wanted the ability to control it. Now I know that's a useless endeavor – the question is am I willing to operate in faith in the future that has been promised to me. That is when true transformation occurs.

31 Days Of Strength In Scripture: Finding Eternity (Hint: Don't Look Too Far)

Ecclesiastes 3:11 - “...He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.”

Romans 1:19 - “because that which is known about God is evident within them: for God made it evident to them.”

 

 

A few days ago my kiddos had lunch underneath their 'secret picnic tree' (Hannah's words). I love that the weather has been so great for enjoying the outdoors lately (It has meant that they've enjoyed it, and I've been able to get a lot more done!), and I couldn't resist getting a pic of them taking part in such a simple pleasure. They often remind me that I need to stop every once in a while and do the same.

I often wonder if a big reason why our culture feels so disconnected from God is because we don't spend enough time enjoying this kind of simplicity. I know we're always talking about how technology has divided our attention and how we need to put down the iPhones, etc, but maybe some of us have a hard time pulling away from it all because we don't know what we're missing.

Anytime I go camping or just spend some time in the outdoors for a while, away from my home and everything that is comfortable and easy, I am reminded of what it's like to feel as though I'm a part of something so much bigger. In life I get caught up in the 'here and now'. As a wife and mother, life can be very ordinary – the messes are big, the children are loud, the dishes are aplenty, and the laundry is unending. When is there a moment to contemplate the big questions of the universe?

But away from all of that? Under a vast starry sky and a moon bathing the earth in its light? That's when I get it. That's when I feel it again – the eternity that He has set in my heart. How BIG is THAT? He has made Himself evident to us within our own hearts. You would think we'd spend less time ignoring it.

That's why the things of this earth will never satisfy me. That's why I have desires that can't be filled here and now. That's why I crave purpose and meaning beyond what the world can give me.

But it is comforting to know that one day all that will be fulfilled, and I would do well to more often remember the hope for eternity that is within me. Perhaps I need to get a secret picnic tree to retreat to every once in a while.