Sunday, January 22, 2017
When Facing the Future
This month marks four years since my grandpa left this world to be with Jesus. He was an incredible man of faith, and as I sat in church this morning singing the words to a song he never knew but fully lived out, I felt the powerful emotions of missing him tug my heart up into my throat. I hate crying in in front of other people, but the older I get, the more it just happens. I thought, "I hate this choking feeling, and I don't want to cry right now, or miss my grandpa this much, but I know what happens to me next." That's when I felt God's loving but firm presence in my heart say, "I am Next." And then it hit me, like God speaking out of the burning bush to Moses, that He is always what is next. What about what will happen next in my husband's job? God says "I am next." What if I can't afford for my kids to continue at their amazing private school, even though we have worked so hard to keep them there? God says "I am next." All the questions I have about my family's future, what my kids will do when they grow up, if my husband will be safe as he does his job, each has the same answer from my Heavenly Father: "I am Next. Don't worry about tomorrow. I am always what is next for you. All you have to do is trust me." In my study Bible I have underlined the passage that my Grandma continually quoted during my Grandpa's last week on this earth, 2 Corinthians 5:1-7. As the doctors helped her make arrangements for Grandpa's body, she would say, "It's his earthly tent. I know he won't be in it anymore; he won't need it. You do what you need to do. He's going home to Jesus." She knew that what was next for Grandpa was to be home with Jesus, not to be confined to an expired body. I have a glorious future in Christ, better than what I could plan out, organize, and prepare for myself. Something beautiful and exciting is always what is next for me, as his dearly loved daughter.
"For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up in life. Now it is God who made us for this very purpose and has given his Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight" -2 Corinthians 5:4-7.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Oh my, I'm so grateful to have found your blog. This is exactly what I needed, and an answer to my prayers about feelings of worry of what is to come. I am sorry about the loss of your grandpa. But I am grateful that you wrote this. We are approaching a huge season of change in which I am terrified of every choice. We have two little ones, one in school and a 1 year old. My husband is active duty military police k9 handler. He strongly desires to join a civilian police dept when his enlistment is over, which is almost here. For me, aside from the day to day dangers of the job, finances for the first couple years is what worries me. The pay cut would be dramatic at first, about half, and on paper we couldn't survive off it. But through paper God keeps telling me to be still, that he will take care of us, and give us the needs he knows we need. Thanks for the confirmation, I came looking for a view into police wife life and found an answer I had been searching for!
ReplyDelete