August 1, 2006

Keep my priorities straight

Today amid some good news that our granddaughter wants to move back home (she lives a few thousand miles away) and the feelings that go with attending the funeral of an elderly aunt later this afternoon, thoughts about shopping for some new cutlery keep popping into my mind.

Other than I don’t get out much, why get excited about shopping? These other things are far more important. The first is a huge answer to prayer. This young woman needs to be around family during some tough times in her life and I’ve been praying for weeks that she would make this decision.

While the second event is sad, funerals are an opportunity to see family that I don’t see very often. Hopefully I can encourage them as some are very apprehensive about death. Compared to what this day could bring, shopping is nothing.

For today: “You then . . . be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus . . . . Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer” (2 Timothy 2:1-4, NKJV).

How many times is the ‘next verse’ right on target. While this soldier needs to involve herself in some civilian matters, like buying groceries and taking out the garbage, my main task in life is being strong in grace and obeying my commanding officer. I’m not to pay too much attention to the stuff of life that would distract me from whatever He has in mind.

Besides ‘enduring’ a 3.5 hour drive to the funeral, I’m going early to visit my friend whose leg was crushed by a horse. After the funeral comes the long drive home. I plan to talk with Jesus for most of the trip, and actually, that is far more exciting than picking out a few forks and knives!

No comments: