Five-minute Friday ~ Together

Together: in one gathering, in relationship, in unity

This word encompasses so much, but I want to focus on what it means when we lack physical proximity.  Jordan is going to Africa with me. She lives in Alaska, where I have never been, a place far away from Edmonds.  She goes to a school with a bell schedule I don't understand, rolls down the windows of her car when it's 40 degrees because it's so warm, and takes beautiful pictures of a snowy landscape I hope to see with my own eyes one day.

Even though I would have to drive for two days without stopping to reach her house from mine and we have never met face to face, we are together because Jordan walks with my heart.  Through difficulty, through pain, through joy, in laughter, Jordan is only a text, facebook message, or skype call away with togetherness, encouragement, and prayer humbly offered.  I found a sister in Christ and a sister of my heart in Jordan.  On June 11th, I finally get to meet her and be together with her for two months.  So exciting!  Until then, and after August 2nd, we are together even still, together in friendship and in Jesus. 

Philippians 1:3-6 "I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy  because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."       

In the Blink of an Eye

Driving home from school, I heard this on the radio:

In light of eternity, each of our earthly lives begins and ends in the blink of an eye.  On average, one blink takes 0.3 seconds. That's a little over 3 millionths of one 24-hour day.  Most people blink more than 15,000 times a day, but we blink reflexively and so quickly that we hardly ever notice.  Basic idea: a blink of an eye is an extremely short amount of time. 

Have you ever observed a child being told that a gnat only lives for a few weeks?  I was that child once, and I was shocked at the news.  How could a gnat do anything worthwile in such a short lifetime?  Well, our perception of time is relative.  A few weeks seems short next to the average human lifespan, but even if I lived to be 110, my life would hardly be a speck in the timeline of eternity.             

All the same, there's a reason I'm alive for the blink of an eye.  God has a mission for me and He called my name long before I learned how to breathe. 

How much time do I spend doing worthless things?  Every second, we have the opportunity to further the Kingdom and give God glory.  The only things that matter in eternity are the things of God.  I have been given this life to live for the blink of an eye and I want to do something worthwhile with it.  I want to go on the Father's mission and play a part in changing other people's eternities.  I want to leave a legacy and not waste this life.  In the blink of an eye, my life on earth will be over and I will be closer to our Father than I have ever been.      

He Sees All of Me

I tend to lean toward the logical and intellectual side.  I love to think about problems and mysteries until I find a solution or an answer.  I love the feeling of finally grasping a concept, but the things that hold my attention and make me stand in awe are things I will never understand. 

My mind often lingers on how God is outside of time and space.  How does that even work?  Everything I know of this world is constrained by time and space.  In the beginning, God was there, before time.  Right now, at 6:24 pm on Sunday, April 1st, 2012, God is here, but He is outside of time.  One day, time will end and God will still be there.  He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.  (Revelations 21:6)

Furthermore, God sees it all.  He sees the past, the present, the future. 

I have been feeling incompetent, lately.  Some days have flown by without me stopping and taking the time to have a real conversation with my Daddy and then I lose sight of Him in my daily life.  I am not perfect, I am unworthy, but for some reason, He won't give up on me.  He loves me. 

Today, He told me that He sees all of me.  Of course, I knew that.  If you had asked me yesterday, if God sees all of me, I would have said, "Absolutely!  He sees my thoughts, my motives, the darkest parts of my heart, every good thing He has ingrained in me".  I missed part of what that means, though.  He doesn't only see me as I am right now.  He sees my past, my present, and my future. 

I can sit here and think about all I could be and how much I wish I could become who I really want to be, a person who is completely in love with Jesus, follows Him wherever He leads her without question, who loves well as the Master does.  I could go on and on.  The trouble is, that's not who I am.  At least, that's not how I see myself now.  It is my hope that I will grow into that person.  God, on the other hand, never says, "I wish you would become _____ because that's actually what I want and it's my plan for you, but I just don't know if you'll ever get there."  He sees everything I will be.  To Him, that is part of who I am. 

Take my past, my present, and my future, mash it all together, and that is who I am.  I am not just a sinner, I am redeemed.  I fall again and again, but He picks me up and sets me back on my feet.  He doesn't only see the good in me and he doesn't only see the sin in me.  In my best moments, He knows my sin and in my worst moments, He sees what I will be along with the present.  He sees it all, and together, it creates a beautiful picture of His love and grace and mercy. 

He sees all of me.  Every part of me from my beginning to my end.  I find such a glorious hope and peace in that knowledge.

This is one of my favorites, a little like "Revelation Song".