At the beginning of this New Year, I was praying for God to give me a word for the year, and the word I got was ETERNITY. I had been weeping for several friends and acquaintances who are walking through very hard times. Our time on earth just seems so short, and at times the suffering feels unbearable and confusing. But God reminded me, He designed us for eternity, and desires a relationship with us here on earth AND together with the whole body of Christ in Heaven, forever. That's the direction we're headed, and our lives here on earth are meant to lean towards Him and His glory in all that we do. Yes, there will be sadness and suffering along the way. And we won't understand the "why" behind so much of that. But God is good. And there is HOPE. He is hope, we hope for an eternity without pain, without loss, without sadness. We cling to the fact that He is working all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). We surrender to the knowledge that He has a perfect, well thought out plan, and if we are willing, we get to be a small part of that eternal plan. And Lord-willing, that means we'll be heaven together with the beautiful extended family that He weaves into each of our lives...not just our biological families, but each and every person he puts in our paths for a reason, a purpose.
Last March we hosted a Sponsorship Sunday at our church to help get children in Rwanda matched with sponsors. God wove together the lives of over 75 families in New Braunfels Texas with the lives of over 75 families in Rwanda that day. How amazing will it be for all of us to rejoice together in heaven some day! It'll be the BEST family get-together!
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| These two were snatching up the first couple of kids before the crowd came out! |
Rwanda and Texas have over 8,000 miles between them, and God placed each of us in the exact spots we live with a purpose, yet through this sweet gift of sponsorship we are now connected. I love that!!
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us." Acts 17:24-27
