Friday, May 18

Boxes.

"May the God of hope fill you with
 all joy and peace in believing,
 so that by the power of the
 Holy Spirit you
 may abound in hope"
Romans 15:13

I have read this verse so many times this week trying to focus my mind and heart on my Heavenly Father remembering that nothing on this earth can steal my joy. Lately I have let the "little"  things of this world fill me with an overwhelming sense of frustration. I've been crabby, short tempered and have dealt with sadness for no reason. This is a problem that has been with me my entire life and I am daily trying to remember that my joy comes from the Lord, and the things of this earth mean little when compared to eternity. I have to remember that my only purpose on this earth is to bring Glory to my Creator and when I sit in Heaven at the feet of Jesus shouting praises to the King, I will think not at all of this world. I have to constantly remind myself that He has given me hope, a truth, and a promise that His love will endure forever so even though I allow the stresses of moving, my husband starting a new job, some long weeks of work, or whatever else I LET take control of my emotions none of it can take away my joy without my permission. This is a hard, hard thing to do, always choosing joy instead of anger, choosing peace instead of stress, choosing trust instead of fear, but thankfully I have Jesus who is always by my side. He pursues my heart, and is always so faithful to remind me just how big He is. This week as I have been packing all this "stuff" in my tiny apartment I've been humbled to remember that I could live in a far off village with one outfit, dirty water, little food, and every day would be a struggle to simply survive. Instead, my stress everyday is that I have too much "stuff" to pack. How silly is that?!?! Instead, I should be changing my heart to remember that every little thing I put in a box is a blessing, a gift from someone we love, or something that Kevin and I have added to our life. So even though exhaustion sometimes takes over and I allow these stresses to try and steal my joy, I can remember that they aren't stresses at all, they are beautiful pieces of my life..down to the smallest pan, it's probably one more pan then someone else has and I should be extremely thankful that I can put it in a box.
You see, even though I fail every..single..day..and even though I'm not bold enough in my actions, or my words, I firmly believe with my whole heart that there will be a day, when the burdens of this place will be gone, and I know that I will see Jesus face to face.

I don't want to waste this life with work stress, day to day stress, or any other trial that gets in my way because my joy comes from the Lord, and under any circumstance He is good.

So today, I am thankful for these boxes. I am thankful that they are piled up high because each one represents a blessing that God has given even though I don't deserve any of them. Today I am thankful for a husband, who has helped me fill these boxes not just with "stuff" but with memories, for he has given me so much to treasure.
Today, I am thankful that even through my bad attitude and sinful nature my God loves me, and he harshly and lovingly teaches me the lessons I need to remember.


happy friday friends... be joyful and remember that this life is short, we can not waste a single day.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Love this post Lu-Lu. So true. Its a humbling thought.
-Amy