Tag: eyes on Jesus

Power of story

I have been thinking of the “Easter” story and how it has affected my life. I’m not sure I have organized my thoughts yet. I’m not sure it’s possible to organize my thoughts about something so enormous.

This one moment in history changed everything; this moment of Christ on the cross. But not in the way that human events change history! For example a world leader makes this choice and now it sets off a chain reaction and events unfold. These are the world changing events of which history is full.

But… Jesus on the cross is different. It changed the trajectory of the world – yes. It changed how events unfolded and the course of our societies – yes again. But it also changes the direction and course of my life now, of the lives of everyone who interacts with him. His act of sacrifice was not a world changing event, it’s a continuous and on-going world changing event.

God and his work are alive in our world. Seeing his hand and his presence in our own story should be the quest of all who seek him.

I listened to this video this morning and found it incredibly moving.

Andrew Peterson: He Gave Us Stories – YouTube

Seeking a path forward

I’ve had a lot of adjusting to do lately. The night my husband had a stroke everything changed. Our financial situation changed, the dynamic in our family changed, and even my husband’s personality changed.

We joke about it because you may as well laugh when you can. I tell him I feel like I’m living in a bad soap opera and I woke up married to his evil twin. He insists that he’s new and improved! Either way it’s an adjustment.

Every day has been uncertain. A year and a half of putting one foot in front of the other and unable to see where we are going. This has been a struggle. We are doing our best to adapt, but it isn’t easy to say the least.

When I was a child we hiked a lot as a family. There is a particular feeling that comes when you’ve been walking through the bush, only able to see a short way in front and keeping your eye focused on the path and suddenly the trees thin out and you find yourself in an open space. An alpine meadow with vistas that take your breath away. One moment you can only see the tangles of trees and shrubs, the next you are awestruck by the broadness and majesty of the view.

This is where my hope lies. I hope that if I just keep walking at some point the brush will thin out and I’ll have a view that takes my breath away. The reality is this may not come in this life, but whether God reveals his hand to me now or later this is my hope.

The path can be so convoluted and hard to find. Good thing Jesus told us what to do. We don’t need to find the path or our way forward. We need to focus on him. The rest is just noise. I need to keep my eyes fixed on Him and pursue Him.

Matthew 6: 31-33 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.