Today I put my daughter on a plane. It’s a funny thing. It’s real but it’s not. It feels like she ought to come home tonight. Like our long talk yesterday should linger on today when she finally rolls out of bed with sleepy hair and that pretty smile. But, alas, it’s not meant to be. Her path turned off from mine, from ours. It feels a bit like something broke apart and yet hasn’t. Grief comes in all shapes and sizes.
When things get out of order, lots of folks turn to material rewards to resolve the tension. In Hebrews 13 this past week at First Alliance, we pondered the impact of Jesus never leaving or forsaking us. Because he won’t ever let us slip out of HIS hands and he won’t abandon us on the side of the path, when the journey gets to be too difficult, we can confidently repeat, with the author of Hebrews, verse 6… “The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid…”
I will not be afraid of not having enough money, of having my stuff break, of health challenges or sending my daughter off to her new job in Colorado… I will be content with my house, my cars, my clothes and my job… While I delight in how Jesus is enough for me.
Sure, I’ll finish my education and try to do my best at work. I’ll study so I can get that promotion or look for the house we need for my family’s needs… but I’ll do so with a palitable awareness that I am a child of the King of Kings. This world isn’t my home; the stuff I collect will break, stain, rust or depreciate but cultivating Kingdom priorities will return a blessing for eternity.
Jesus never fails. People may be hurtful and bring harm to my body. But since my life is hidden in God and my REAL home is eternal I’ll continue to remind myself that my money won’t do it; it pays to be content; Jesus won’t let me go SO I can CONFIDENTLY say, “The Lord is my helper” and relax knowing it’s going to be OK.
Our perspective changes everything… On Sunday I mentioned a TedTalk story from 2009 told by Jacqueline Novogratz tells a moving story of an encounter in a Nairobi slum with Jane, a former prostitute, whose dreams of escaping poverty, of becoming a doctor and of getting married were fulfilled in an unexpected way. Listen to Jane’s Story (6 minute TedTalk)
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