Back To The Basics

Hi everyone, it's been a while! Life has felt like it has been speeding up around every twist and turn, and we are finally starting to pump the breaks a little (thank You, God!). The last few months have truly felt like a blur, and I can't believe we are well into June. A lot of life has happened in these last few months, and I am grateful for the chance to sit and write again.

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This morning I was reading Jude 1: 24-25 and was sort of snapped back to reality. These last 2 verses are titled Prayer of Praise in my bible and read as follows:

"Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into His glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to Him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are His before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen." (NLT)

With full calendars and busy schedules I have found it difficult to be in my bible consistently and focus on what matters most. After reading about the joy that God has in erasing my sin and preparing a way for me, my distractions all seem so silly. My purpose in life is not to be efficient at every task or always have an empty laundry basket, it isn't to have a spotless house or a certain mile time, and it isn't even to be the best wife or friend. While all of these are great accomplishments that I actively work towards, we were created to praise God and worship at His feet. This takes me back to the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10 and their different mindsets of what was more important in the presence of Jesus. Martha was so focused on preparing dinner for Jesus that she was frustrated at Mary for sitting with Him. When she brought her frustrations to Jesus looking for support, he instead responded "There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10: 42, NLT). While our goals and tasks are not unimportant, they are certainly not the most important. Jesus has so much more for us if we would just sit and praise Him at His feet.

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I hope that this can recenter you the way it has me this morning. It is easy to get to a place where you are wrapped up in your performance and forget your calling. This past year of my life was so intensely busy, working full time and graduating a very intense grad program with an insane amount of unexpected curveballs. I was running on fumes and striving so hard to be good at it all. In fact, I strived so hard that I often sacrificed quiet time for mindless scrolling just to have a few minutes (which quickly turns to hours) of "not thinking time" or wasting the day away because my mind just felt so full. I wish I would have read this verse everyday over the last 10 months, to feel the peace that I am feeling now.

All glory to God who makes a way for me and wipes my sin clean. All glory to God who delights in me, His creation. Thank you, Jesus.