One Day...

One day, I will be able to take a nap in the afternoon. I will be able to enjoy an evening to read a book in peace. I will be able to take my time to quietly shop at the grocery store. I will be able to go out to eat with my wife without having to hire babysitters. I will be able to go to bed and wake up when I want to. I will be able to eat a meal in peace without my children noisily interrupting.

One day, I will not have to fight frustration while I discipline the children. I will not have to clean spilled milk off the floor that my son made while trying to pour his own drink. I will not have to scrub crayon marks off of the walls that my daughter doodled. I will not have to pay so much money to feed growing kids. My wife and I will not have to juggle so much of our crazy busy schedule or have so much laundry and dishes to do.

One day my life will not be so busy and my home will be quiet. I'm not looking forward to that day. I have to ask the Lord for grace to remember this each time I become frustrated or stressed, longing for a peaceful moment.

God says that children are a heritage He gives me, and I am blessed to have many (Psalm 127:3-5). I am often reminded from older Christians that I will one day look back on these days as the best days of my life. I need to hear that encouragement often. I think that this is something we all need to hear.

Dear reader, I don't know what chapter of life you are in. A teenager may think that one day she will be an adult and life will be more fun out from under her parents' house. A stressed out young mother may think that things will be more stable when the kids are a little older. A man may think life will be more enjoyable once he retires. An empty-nester may think his life will be more fun when he has grandchildren. Worse, perhaps you think you have nothing more to look forward to in life.

Truth is, right now is the best day of your life because God has given this day to you to rejoice in and glorify Him. Each morning, He is faithful to give us grace to see His new mercies (Lamentations 3:23). His new mercies are good and perfect gifts for you in this season of your life. We live life now to glorify God, and we also do look forward to one day.

One day, we will not age. We will run and not grow weary. We will not attend any more funerals. We will not long for better days. One day our tears will be wiped away by our Lord for the last time. That is a day I look forward to. That day is what brings me joy today. No matter the stress and noise today may bring, I know today has purpose in the everlasting day that is to come.

Let us rejoice in all things (I Thessalonians 5:18, Philippians 4:4), even the trying things today may bring. Let us not grumble (Philippians 2:14), for today God has given us mercy. Let us not grow weary in doing good (Galatians 6:9), for the everlasting day is coming...one day.

August 2014 Newsletter

School is starting up again. Thinking, studying, and learning are important. We are commanded by God to worship Him with our minds (Matthew 22:37) and to glorify God in whatever we are doing, even school stuff (I Corinthians 10:31). Without the honoring worship of God with our minds, our minds will become darkened and our thinking will become meaningless (Romans 1:18-21, 28).

So, what are we as parents of school aged children to do to keep Christ at the center of our lives, even through the chaos of school time? We ask the Lord to “teach us to number our days” (Psalm 90:12). That is, we must know we are here for such a short time (James 4:14). Even though the urgent things call for you to keep busy and never rest, the importance of Christ is to keep at the center. We are to rest, pray, and worship Christ, not in isolation, but with our spouse and our children.

Pick a time and day each week to sit down with your family, read Scripture aloud, pray for each other with each other, and rest in Christ together. God is worthy of the worship of your family. Keep this time sacred. With Joshua, I call you to “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

I pray to our God that you and your family are blessed by His grace and peace in Christ Jesus. Amen.