Be All There

 

There is a song written by Jeremy Camp that really has spoken to my heart and challenged my thinking. It is called, “Keep Me in the Moment.”  One particular line struck me hard - “Help me live with my eyes wide open cause I don’t wanna miss what You have for me.” 

For those who have known me for many years you have likely heard me speak about how I wish I could live anywhere else but Camp Hill. It’s not that it isn’t lovely here, because it is. It is more that I just never felt I fit into the area. So I whined and I complained and I nagged about moving. But here I am.

Lately though as I have been thinking more and more about being “all there” wherever God has me I am finding myself more at peace and more settled with being here and not yearning for something more or something different. Paul wrote in the book of Philippians about contentment. In Philippians 4:11 he wrote “ Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am in to be content.”

There is just so much to be thankful for in whatever our present circumstances might be. But we have to be all there in order to see it, to experience it and to be joyful in it. Where was Paul when he wrote this? He was in prison, in a cold lonely cell. But he knew that by being thankful and recognizing his strength came from the Lord he could be content.

I don’t want to waste another day yearning for something else. I want to live with my eyes wide open to the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. And for me, right now, that is Camp Hill, PA.

Why Am I Here?

 

Just a few days ago we flipped the calendar from 2020 to 2021. With the stroke of the clock we left behind a year that was to say the least, challenging. And now yawning out in front of us are over 360 days where we can write the script of this new year. 

I always find myself becoming very introspective during these  initial days of the new year. And I tend to be introspective just in general. I weigh out just how I have done with commitments to myself, to others and to God and find myself sorely lacking on all accounts. Oh yes, I have a few things I am pleased about but on the whole I just don’t feel like I measure up.

Then I wonder - what in the world am I here for? I mean, there is nothing really special about me. Then I stop. I stop comparing myself to others who are prettier, younger, smarter, more organized and more godly and I ponder what does God say about why I am here.

In Ephesians 1:3-10 I found some great truths about what God says. He says I am chosen, even before the foundation of the world! Wow! In love He adopted me. An adopted child is a chosen child! And this chosen child has been redeemed by His blood. My sins (which are many) are forgiven by His grace which He lavished on me! And He has promised to make known to me the mystery of His will. How exciting is all of this!

What in the world am I here for? I am here to be loved by God and to love Him in return. How do I manifest that love? I do it by obedience to what His Word says and I do it by showing love to others. I pray that as this new year presents me opportunities to reach out, to encourage, to lift others up that I will be found faithful. And I pray that I will demonstrate love to my Father that shows just how grateful I am that He chose me!

Happy New Year!