Friday, October 2, 2015

EVEN Today



Each Wednesday night, anywhere from 7-10 young ladies pile in my little living room, eager to study the word of God.  I never saw it in my stars to lead a small group of middle and high school aged girls, but The Lord had plans that I never imagined.  Over the last year, my heart has been knitted with theirs and I like to think of myself as their cool big sister…because heaven knows I am not old enough to be a mom.  Ok, ok... so maybe I am.  Yikes!

You parents out there will understand what I mean by the term “learn from my mistakes”.  Although I have no biological children, I can still pass this on to my “spiritual children”.  When I was their age, making bad choices was my hobby.  It’s what I was good at.  And trust me when I say I was no amateur.  You could follow me around and you’re bound to see the majority of decisions I made on a daily basis at that age end up in disaster.  Why?  Because I made decisions based on what Katy wanted.  It was all about me. 

Ok, now back to small group.  One of the things I remind the girls of no less than four times on a given Wednesday is that the choices they make now matter.  I am pretty sure I thought my teenage years were mulligan years and that they didn’t count.  But as I have grown, I see that every single choice we make echoes into eternity.  I want these precious girls to learn from the mistakes I made when I was their age. 

I have a prayer that I pray each day that helps focus my heart on the One who deserves all of my attention.  It focuses on today, and reminds me that life is a gift…one to be received one day at a time.  It’s simple, but it’s life-altering and life-giving. 
“Lord, I give you my “yes” today.”  
See, I told you!  Simple!  But it changes the very core of who I am.  
No matter what you ask Lord, you have my “yes today”.  

I cannot help but think of the students who gave their very last “yes” to Jesus when Christopher Harper Mercer walked into Umpqua Community College with one question in mind: “are you a Christian?”  It stopped me in my tracks to read that in the headlines.  These faithful-until-death-souls gave Jesus their ultimate and final "yes".  And in an unfortunate act of violence…within minutes…saw the Lord.  Wow.  So, I put myself in that situation… you see, it’s easy to give the Lord my “yes today” when everything seems ok.  But what about when I am standing in the very face of persecution?  

It is my prayer that when those days come, even if it means it's my last, that I will say…”Lord, I give you my yes….EVEN today”.  

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,  and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
John 6:68