From the Pulpit…

Reflections and Images

Our lives are like reflections and images: reflections of where we’ve been combined with images of who we are and where we are heading. I believe the longer we live the more we realize just how fleeting our years are and how important it is to maximize the potential of each year for being what we ought to be and doing what we ought to do. I also believe that every year God gives us on this earth is to be a year where we are to be as productive and as pleasing as we can be for His glory.
Our God is amazing! Every day we have the opportunity of sitting down with a book that contains the words of the one who created us. Every day we have the opportunity to let Him give us insight on not how just to live, but how to live abundantly in His grace and in His presence.
In my life I have discovered that the greatest realization of abundant living for me in God’s grace and presence has not come from a giant knock-your-socks off mountaintop spiritual experience, but in finding enjoyment in the simple things I experience every day. Life is filled with simple pleasures, the little satisfying things we never really anticipate, but can always take pleasure in.  It’s these simple things and the simple pleasures that can make the difference. Things as simple as sleeping in, an ice-cold drink on a hot day, a good hair day, a tender kiss, a comforting smile, a good hug, a kind word, or a few words of encouragement can make an ordinary day extraordinary. These are gifts of life we can celebrate. I’ve learned not to take these small blessings for granted.
I’ve also learned that if I open my eyes and really look, there are many reasons to look at what’s happening around me, and just say thanks to God for the blessings I do have. I call them glory sightings.
For instance, some blessings and glory sightings for me include a loving church family, helping someone in need, celebrating an answered prayer, standing in faith with an unanswered prayer, friends who support me, and crawling into bed at the end of the day with a woman who deserves a man much better than I, but a woman who would argue that fact and tell me that I am God’s blessing in her life. God is awesome and His blessings flow, especially when I realize that I get to be with her for a lifetime.
And when life does get rough, when the dogs out there bite, and when the bees out there sting, and in those times when I’m feeling sad, put upon and frustrated, I have found that reflecting back on the good things and simple pleasures become God blessings that I can use to make my day more pleasant and give me a more positive outlook and image of who I am and Whose I am, and where I am going.
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23 NIV)