iShineInMinistry

Matthew 25:13 (ESV)

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of shock, sadness, saying goodbye (for now) and spending time with family. My grandmother went to be with the Lord two weeks ago and all I can think is, “But I wasn’t ready yet!” She was very healthy, but an accident does not care if you are in good health or struggling...also, when it’s time, it’s time. This is the thing that I now have to wrap my brain around. I love quoting Ecclesiastes 3:1, when it does not have to do with something this life-altering. I am completely okay and ready for all the uncertainty of running a small business, changing jobs, even moving across the country and having to start all over; however, this new change of events...not so much.

Adjusting to no more Monday evening phone calls, no more flowers on birthdays, Mother’s Day and other holidays, getting used to not calling that 702 area code number when I return safely from a trip, among so many other things, is something I was not ready for. As I came back to New York this week and realized the reason I even go to Las Vegas in the first place is no longer here on this physical earth truly hit me as my plane landed. Now, the question is, what do I do about this?

1) Pray: I clearly need strength, renewed faith and joy in this season, since I am quite sad and missing someone that was so instrumental in my life and my faith.

2) Trust the Lord: I never thought for a minute that my grandma would not be here to see me get married or start a family; but now this is a thought I need to come to terms with and be okay with...more than okay with.

3) Find Joy: I had so many other fabulous things going on in this season of life. I need to be reminded of all the amazing plans the Lord has prepared for me and not discount them just because the fruition of those plans may look a little altered.

I’m sure that all of us run into this during various seasons of our lives. Whether it is because a death of a loved one, getting fired from a job, not being able to have children or realizing that you may still be single at the age of 37, we all need to press further into the promises of God’s word. This is not the time to get lukewarm, start looking into other religions to see if you can get a quicker means to an end or just fall off the radar of all of your friends and family. This is the time to “woman up”, get real, stop making excuses and stop acting so desperate and pathetic...get on track girl (this includes me). God has something in the mix of this crazy life of ours and this is not the time to mess everything up.

Let’s keep our eyes on Him, get a life (stop sitting around on your couch eating Ben & Jerry’s, that’s doing absolutely nothing for you but getting you one step closer to diabetes), stop being so self-absorbed about your life, emotions and the fact that life isn’t perfect and get going about what truly matters. We don’t have much time left here on this earth and there are too many people that don’t know the Lord. We need to get over ourselves (I know my grandma is in heaven, so there is no reason for me to throw a continuous pity-party) and get going! Even in tough times we still live #TheCharmedLife and we need to act like it. Our lame existence is not helping anyone draw closer to Jesus and we need to be a good witness of His love, kindness and faithfulness. Won’t you join me?

This week, please take the time to pray more and look into two things that you can do to live life more abundantly. One thing should be how you can serve the Lord and bless others. The other thing should be a new hobby that you find interesting, but never quite got around to pursuing. If you have any prayer requests, I’d love for you to leave them in the comments section.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart...