Thanksgiving Thoughts

Over the last couple weeks specifically, God has been laying it on my heart that life is a gift. It is a simple statement that seems to be used frequently but people don’t absorb it’s meaning. 

Life is a gift. 

And it is. 

I am 26 years old. I’m young. Yet I keep hearing about people who are my age that are dying in tragic car accidents, dying by suicide, overdosing on drugs, passing away from cancer/other diseases, or being murdered. My heart breaks. The news breaks my heart. 

It says in the Bible that life is a vapor (James 4:14). We are here today and gone tomorrow. This has been convicting me on so many levels. What in the world am I living for? You want to know the sad but truthful answer? Me. At church, we have been working our way through the book of Philippians in the Bible. Paul says in chapter 1 that to live is Christ and to die is gain. Simply put, my life is only to be lived for the Lord, and to die is better than life here on earth because it means heaven with Jesus. 

First, wow. What faith Paul had in our Savior! When I read that passage I become envious of Paul. To live is Christ. Oh, how I have fallen short. Thank God that His mercies are new every day and that He forgives me of my sinful heart. I believe that we all were created by God and that we were created for His glory. Life is a gift, yes, but what’s more of a gift than life here on this earth? Life in heaven with Jesus Christ. 

God has given me this life to live but only for Him. Not to live for my husband, my family, my friends, our cats, our house, my desires and wishes. I am not created to live this life for myself. I am created only for Him. 

Sometimes people will make comments to me like “you’re really religious” or “you’re really happy all the time, I don’t get it”. This is the simple truth: Jesus Christ died on a cross for my sin. My sin held him there. But He still wants me and pursues this sinful heart of mine. And because I believe in Him and have put my faith in Him alone, He saved my soul from a life in hell. This, my friends, is something to celebrate. This life is so worth living for Him - because He gave me the ultimate gift. My prayer today is that everyone finds the joy that I found in my Savior. 





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intentional

Intentional. My word for 2019. I don’t know that I really believe in New Year’s Resolutions. I think there’s a lot of hype around the new year, when really every single day we wake up is a chance to make a new goal, make a change, or be better. Don’t get me wrong, I have no judgements against people who make resolutions. They just aren’t for me. To me, the New Year is equivalent to the Monday of the week.   “I’ll start my diet on Monday, the weekend doesn’t count”, when, in all reality, the scale on Monday says the weekend DID, in fact, count. I’m not looking to set myself up for failure. I’m looking to make real changes in my life – changes that make me more like Christ. I think it’s because I’m a big picture person, I don’t spend tons of time focusing on the details. In everything I do, I want to leave it better than when I started it. So, I’m writing this down [for anyone who wants to read], and hopeful that when I read this in 2020, I feel like I did what I wanted ...
Read more

The One With the Laundry

I came into my marriage with one limitation. I will not do a grown man’s laundry. I hate doing my own, let alone someone else’s. It’s funny how time and conviction can change a person. I held pretty tight to my rule for the first 3 years of our marriage, and then one day, it hit me. I walked into our laundry room and saw a heaping load of dirty clothes in his hamper one Saturday. I thought, “what is wrong with me? It’s laundry.” I think God changed my heart that morning. It may seem silly and little, but He did. That morning I did Josh’s laundry. And I have in all the days that followed.   Why did my heart change?  Because I love my husband. Because I want to serve him and honor him. And I want him to know I appreciate him. Ironically enough, he also hates doing laundry. His love language is acts of service, so if I can communicate love to him by washing and drying his dirty underwear, Lord help me, I’ll do it. Love comes without conditions, and I’m glad I gave up min...
Read more

An Open Letter From a Bride to Her Groom

May 14, 2016. Forever my favorite day. I have lived a lot of wonderful days in my life, but if I could do one on repeat, it would always be the day I became Mrs. Joshua Erkman. I remember everything about our wedding. So many people told me beforehand to soak in all of the moments I could, because it goes by so fast, and that’s exactly what I did. Some of my favorites are these: Getting ready in the morning with my girls, mother-in-law, mom, dad, and cats. Father of the Bride was playing in the background. We were all talking and laughing and relaxing together. I remember Rach doing face swap on Snapchat and us all cracking up. I remember Zoey hopping up on the makeup table and trying to get as many snuggles in as she could. I remember my dad and Olivia sitting on the couch in mom and dad’s basement watching while Arica did my hair. I remember you calling me and everyone gathering around the table, smiling, wondering what you had said.   I remember all of us holding ha...
Read more