Eternal Glory is So Much Better Than Small Troubles

“That is why we never give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. We have small troubles for a while now, but these troubles are helping us gain an eternal glory. That eternal glory is much greater than our troubles. So we think about what we cannot see, not what we see. What we see lasts only a short time, and what we cannot see will last forever.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:16-18‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Since I last wrote a blog a couple of things have happened. Our sweet Uncle “Nuni” died two weeks ago. We traveled back to Mississippi to celebrate his memorial. Then the day after we drove back home we got a call from the hospital that Mark’s mom is declining. We got back in the car and went back to Mississippi. The Cleveland hospital has a wing for long term care, and by God’s grace they had an opening. Within one day, we had her moved to long term care.

I cannot express the emotions that I feel when I think about the last four months. Three out of the four of the “elderly”people in my life have either gone to be with the Lord or are near to that point. This point of this blog is not about grief. Grief is just grief. Am I grieving? Yes. But they are with the Lord and that is a feeling of celebration.

Mark and I are overwhelmed with the thoughts of how to finish strong on this side of heaven. What do I want my kids to think when they see me take my last breath? Will it be one of thankfulness for the life I lived? Was I easy to follow to Christ or was I a hinderance? Will they remember me as a prayer warrior? Will they remember me as a lover of God’s Word? Will they remember me as one who had a heart of gratitude and not complaining?

Will they remember me as one who was radically generous and not materialistic? Did they see humility and not pride? Did they see me as one who served others and not myself? Were my words kind and encouraging? Did I tell them enough how much I loved them and how proud of was of them? I must say that I fall so short.

I cannot wait until it is near the end(whenever the end is) and regret the life I lived. My actions have to be eternally driven now. My money decisions have to be eternally driven now. My first hour of each day has to be eternally driven by reading the word and praying now and not start when I feel like it. The day that you “ feel like it” never arrives. It’s hard to see the unknown, instead of the temporary. But that is my goal. Witnessing the past 4 months of the deaths of loved ones, has cleared my thinking. Thank you, Lord.

P. S. Mark's mom died a week after i wrote this blog, February, 2018