Life isn’t always wrapped in a box with a pretty bow, is it? Oh, sometimes it might feel like we are in a box…but that box is torn and ripped and isn’t at all beautiful. The walls feel like they are closing in around us and we may begin to feel claustrophobic. There have been times recently when I have felt this way, since my mother-in-law has been under Hospice care for the past three weeks. It has been a roller coaster ride and as of today, signs are showing us that she will soon see her Jesus face to face.
I’ve done a lot of praying these past weeks as I have sat beside her bed. Praying for peace, praying for comfort, praying that she would not suffer. Mom has always told us that she hoped when it was her time to pass, she would just go to sleep and wake up with Jesus. She has not gotten her wish…these have not been easy days for her…and I have struggled with that fact.
These past days have made me think of an article I read several years ago which really spoke to me. It was written by Bronwyn Lea and it was entitled, “One Little Word That Radically Changed My Prayers.” Her words really shook me to the core. If you haven’t read these words from Bronwyn, I highly recommend that you do. If you have read them, I highly recommend you read them again! I have read them over and over, and I am working hard to use her idea in my daily life. You can find it at http://bronlea.com/2013/08/06/one-little-word-that-radically-changed-my-prayers/.
To give you just a short synopsis, this woman concluded that when she prayed, instead of praying “God, make it better”, she needed to start praying, “God, make it count”. I so needed to read her words then and I needed to read them again now. I realized that many of my prayers have been asking Jesus to just “make it better”…or “make it easier”…or “make it just how I think things should be”. Instead, I need to be praying that what we are going through, will count for HIS glory. I should be asking for Him to make it count for eternity…that my witness of His faithfulness, day in and day out, will make others want to know my Jesus.
Back in 2018, I wrote these words: “So what do we do when life isn’t what we bargained for? We trust. Not in ourselves, or our family, or our employer, or our all-important tech giant. We trust in the One who created us. The One who knows the number of hairs on our head. The One who loves us more than we can even imagine. The One who loves our spouse, our children, our friends…even more than we do. The One who was nailed to a tree, so that we could spend eternity with Him. The One whose plan for us is perfect, even if it doesn’t make sense to us. The One who is our Jesus.”
I have tried this past week to trust my Jesus when things didn’t make sense. Instead of badgering Him to “fix” what has been happening, l have tried to pray for Him to make it count in light of eternity. Honestly, I haven’t succeeded every day, but I think I did better and hopefully in this next week, I will trust my Jesus even more and will let Him lead me wherever will bring Him glory.
Some of Bronwyn’s final words were, “God, now that I think about it, please don’t just make it better. Not if it doesn’t count.” WOW. I’m not there yet…but I’m sure working on it.
What are you going through today? Are you also just nagging Jesus over and over again to take away your current health problem…or work situation…or family issue? Why not try something different this week and ask Him to make your problems count…for eternity…and for HIS glory. What do you have to lose?
“Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.”
Proverbs 3:5-7a (The Message)
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