Remembering to Live Like This IS OUR Temporary Home

Some of you may have already watched this music video from where I posted it earlier in the day on facebook.

I don't know how many times I've found myself drawn to listening to it today, but the more I listened the more a blog post formed in my heart.

Temporary Home.

Don't we ALL forget too many times that what we call "life" is just a short stop.

Obviously the song means so very much to me because of the emotions it stirs up as I will forever have the memory of my daddy telling Kevin and I how he had already seen Jesus and kept pointing up saying he was going home during those last few hours we had with him. Such a painful time to remember and the most beautiful memory of my entire life.

When I push aside "those" emotions that draw me to this song, I can't help but think about how we do tend to forget that the lives we have right now are just temporary.

Hard times. Temporary.
Loneliness. Temporary.
Uncertainty. Temporary.

Every single unpleasant thing we EVER have to deal with is JUST temporary. Victory is waiting. Restoration is waiting.

On the other side of the coin, even the BEST things in life are temporary. The great news is that when this life is over, there is nothing but GREATNESS ahead.

It doesn't matter how short or long our life is. It is just a small portion.

I think often to how our elementary children's minister talks to the kids about making good choices. She often reminds them that good choices have to be made because "this" part of life is just a tiny portion of the "rest" of our lives. Life here on earth is just a tiny portion (to which they put their finger and thumb together to signify small). Our life in eternity is never ending (to which they stretch their arms as wide as they can go). Another special friend shared a video link with me that used a giant length of rope (MASSIVE) and the end was tipped in red. The red portion was life on earth and the rest of the length of rope was our eternal life.

Yet knowing this, we still don't "get" it. We (including myself) forget to live our lives based on that promise.

We scurry around to get more stuff. Can't take it with us.
We treat people as if they will always be with us. Death can come any instant.
We take for granted EVERY single blessing we've been given. It can be gone in a blink of an eye.

When this life is over, we will either be with Christ or separated from Him forever. Forever is the length of rope, not the tip. Forever is the outstretched arms, not the fingers pressed together.

We forget that decisions we make RIGHT now matter and will determine whether our forever is with Christ or separated from Him. We think we will have tomorrow to change our lives. Tomorrow is not promised.

I spend countless hours and continuous effort to make our house a home for my husband and my children. Yet, I have to remember that no matter how much it FEELS like home, it's only temporary. It is still just 4 walls. As the song says, just windows and rooms that we are just passing through. The investment I put into their spiritual lives and heart matter more than anything else I can ever do for them. I don't often do enough.

I'm really struck today by the thought of how sometimes God asks me (and you) to do things that seem "hard" or uncomfortable. He may ask us to step out of our comfort zone. He may ask us something that "seems" crazy. He may tell us something we shouldn't do because it is wrong. That "something" may make us unpopular as people around us do it. It may be EXTREMELY hard.

What I'm reminded of today (and VERY convicted about in my own heart) is this: why do I worry so much about how uncomfortable I am or how hard something may be? Why do I struggle so much with things that are out of my box? I have to remember that whatever I'm feeling right now or however hard the task at hand is, it's just a short portion. It's just a short portion that determines the "rest". Surely I can tough out a short portion (even the uncomfortable things) when I realize that it matters for the outstretched arms and length of rope. Surely I can handle those few seconds of strange looks when Kevin and I bow our heads to pray at a restaurant. Surely I can handle those butterflies that make me nauseous when I have to do something out of my comfort zone. Surely I can handle those "judgmental" stares and comments about the choices we are making to be "different". Those are just the red tip or fingers pressed together moments. Surely I can and surely you can, too. We just have to adjust our hearts towards remembering this IS our temporary home.