GLORY

I drove for the first time yesterday, which included driving to the farthest southern street in Austin to a friend’s house for a time of Praise & Worship, prayer, and a good campfire in anticipation of this Easter Sunday. I do not even know what song we were singing, but the Lord suddenly filled me with some raw emotions and thoughts I’d never experienced.

Having been born with a congenital heart murmur and really not knowing life any differently, there have been three times when God chose to save my life through fairly complicated surgeries. (#1 – one year old // #2 – 19 years old // #3 – 35 years old) There are entirely too many circumstances and situations that could have changed the outcome of each surgery, but they were all successful. This really hit home last night. It was almost like I thought, “God is giving me another ‘chance’ at life.”

But then that thought disturbed me. God has not given me these 3 “chances” to do things different, live a better life, change lives, whatever you put in the blank. This is all for HIS GLORY. I cannot earn a single thing from Him or for Him. He simply wants me to live a life submitted to Him so that His Name is made known. This is deep, but goodness, He is really speaking to me even as I type this. Nothing is by accident in this life. Every single human being has a specific number of days they will live here on earth (and we can choose how we spend those days), before our bodies no longer function. Death is real. Death is sad. However, if you truly believe in the Son of God and His work on the cross, life after death is to be anticipated! And celebrated.

His story could have looked entirely different for me. Perhaps I was born in a 3rd world country with no access to healthcare and died at age 1. What if I waited too long to see a doctor before I found out I had a life-threatening bacterial infection in college? I am just humbled that God would choose to extend my days and allow me more time to live for Him here on earth. It’s honestly mind boggling. I cannot relate to anyone that has lost a close loved one because I have not. I can only imagine it’s the hardest thing to go through on this earth. Compared to eternity, life is but a speck, and we are so diligent to make ourselves known, increase our self-worth, etc.

What if we stripped all of that away and TRULY lived for ONE thing? God’s Glory. I’m willing to give it a shot!