"Did You Know"

 "But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre," (John 20:11 KJV)

  "[Young Woman] I went down to the grove of walnut trees out of the valley to see the new spring growth, to see whether the grapevines had budded or the pomegranates were in bloom. Before I realized it, my strong desire had taken me to the chariot of a noble man." (SONG OF SONGS 6:11-12 NLT)

 Yesterday morning, after having finished the posting of that very short, but stunning post, I received a message from a brother at church, which illustrated the life of, "Bummer Lambs." As I tried to read it, my eyes still teared up from the recent post, I began to think about the sadness I felt regarding my own life; how I sometimes feel as though I am stuck in some sort of a trial that never ends. 

 After weeping over my thoughts, I was suddenly drawn towards something I remembered from the last message I gave, regarding Ruth. It was on Mother's Day of 2017, which was meant to be somewhat of a puff-piece, that was going to be titled "Meet David's Great-Grandparents", but instead, it became, "Meet Redemption!" 

 Interestingly enough, the part that hit me the most was Naomi's heart when she arrived in Bethlehem, accompanied with her daughter-in-law, Ruth. As she entered the town, she was greeted by the entire town, and some women greeted her, asking, "Is it really Naomi?" To which she replied. "Don't call me Naomi," she responded. "Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the LORD has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?" 

 This might not make much sense, (as if that really matters,) but I have felt something very similar to this exact illustration of Mary, in the exact moment! Just a glance at life, as if frozen in time for an instant, in the middle of a total breakdown, there is a special moment when I have looked into the situation, seemingly as if there is a whole other picture; something that is obscure, but very real, and very hard to understand! 

 As I worked on the message, that morning of May 14th, 2017, I witnessed the face of Ruth, as she stood beside Naomi, like a faithful daughter that cared for her dearly, who had to wonder what was meant by, "Empty." Her new life was not empty! The burden she bore, if that was her feeling, was what was going to give her life! She just didn't know it, neither could she see it! 

 I don't know what you might be going through, or how hard you might think your life is, tragedy or not, but God loves you! His thoughts for you are not about tragedy and hardship, but about you knowing the love that overcomes every circumstance and every situation! This life is way too short and fragile to not take advantage of the opportunities God gives us to shine in our darkest moments. 

 When it seems as though all is lost, those are the moments we can see Jesus the clearest, we just need to want to see Him the most! Merry Christmas...

"When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things last forever - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:11-13 NLT)