Luke 24:45 “Then He opened their minds so they could
understand the Scriptures.”
What has been very interesting as I look to this past year
at my journey through the valley of the shadow of death and through my time of
deep mourning and grief, is that the Lord has opened my eyes to Him in new and
meaningful ways. The death of my child was an interruption in my life that I
had never expected or could even remotely understand and comprehend, and the
only way that I would be able to wrap my head around this tragic and
cataclysmic loss was to get alone with God. God definitely had my attention and
when He calls us to be alone with Him in our suffering, in our heartbreak, in
our disappointment, in our difficulties, in our tribulation and in our
brokenness, we are utterly bewildered and completely baffled before Him. It is
there in that moment when we are truly prostate before our Lord that He can
finally begin to reach us and to teach us. There is an enlightening in my soul
that has occurred as the Lord stripped away everything that had been hindering
my relationship with Him before and even though I have been a Christ follower
for a very long time, the Lord truly revealed Himself to me in His glory and in
His Majesty and, it took awhile, but I finally began to understand the true
meaning of my purpose here on earth.
Matthew 6:20-21 says, “But store up for yourselves treasures
in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not
break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
I have always known this verse and although I do take pleasure in the things of
this world, I have always held my earthly possessions very loosely and have
been generous with what the Lord has given me.
But honestly, I have never been so heavenly minded in my entire life as
I have been this past year. It’s almost as if the Lord radically shifted my
focus from this world and lifted my eyes heavenward with a new longing in my
soul that had never been there before. This persistent ache in my heart for
reunion is not only for my beautiful child, but it is for my eternal home and
for my marvelous and wonderful Savior who awaits me there. Oh how I desire more
than anything to be with Elisha and with Jesus, but I am still tethered to this
world and my time here is short, but that day will come soon enough. And so
with the time that I have left, there is now a sense of urgency to be all that
I was called to be and all that the Lord had intended me to be from the very
beginning.
My husband and I recently played a new board game with our
kids and as I was winning, I had amassed all of the chips in my corner and
everyone else was left wanting. It felt really good to have it all, but at the
end of the game, it all went back into the box and we were equal again. James
1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the
Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” The
most awesome thing about our Lord is that even though I’d like to think I am
His favorite, He does not play favorites; He gives equally to each and every
one of us. Each of us has a gift and a talent that we have been given to be
used for His glory and His goodness here on earth and when He interrupts our
plans and our lives, and opens our eyes and our understanding to comprehend His
purpose and the wondrous things that He has ordained for us, there is a freeing
that will occur and we will know the hope of His calling for each and every one
of us.
– Melody
