A time..

Panorama from the summit 2.416m in north on Karhorn. by Böhringer Friedrich

Good morning, beloved,

We are a week away from Thanksgiving. I am three wake-ups away from my appointment with the surgeon. Yet, what I can’t get off my mind now is a book I started yesterday and finished. I could not put the book down. Fearless by Eric Blehm gave me  an appreciation for our military.

This man, Adam Brown, suffered from a great many ailments, yet that was not the focus of this book. He just kept coming back to serve and protect our country. He was fearless. His hope was built on the solid rock of Christ and he lived it out. He was not perfect and this story is also about this man facing his demons and conquering them in the Spirit of God.

He had a wife who steadfastly remained by his side through it all. Never did she leave him. The sacrifice that they both made on behalf of their country compels to stop taking moments for granted.

As my kids are not with me, as I stay at my parents’ house, I believe the Lord is asking me to live in this moment. When Adam Brown was home from deployment, he was home. He was present with his family. One story that stays very strongly in my mind is when he was home, and he went to take a bath. An intruder started to break in, and Adam flew out of the tub to face the burglar..the burglar did not touch the foyer, he turned tail and ran. As quickly as he responded to the threat, he calmed his wife and kept her safe with comforting words and gesture.

He kept boundaries on work as a Navy Seal and home.

How about you? How about me? Are we present in this moment with the blessings that we have now? Do we complain about that which we cannot change or control? If the opportunity arises to be with your kids, your husband, your friends, are you also using your smart phone or computer to keep you up to date on your Facebook?

I admit I take for granted my moments. I want to get to the next moment.

Ecclesiastes 3:

To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven:

² A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted,

³ A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up,

⁴ A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

⁵ A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

⁶ A time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away,

⁷ A time to rend and a time to sew, a time to keep silence and a time to speak,

⁸ A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

Each moment we have is a gift from God. I know I’ve written about this before. Will you take a moment to thank God for our military? Thank God for the service, the protection, the sacrifice they make for the freedoms we enjoy. They are true heroes. They should be on the sides of cereal boxes. They should get the commercial endorsements.

However, I don’t think they would ever want that. Pray for these men and women. Pray for their families.

Pray on. Pray on.

1 Peter 2:

¹⁴ Or to governors as sent by him to bring vengeance (punishment, justice) to those who do wrong and to encourage those who do good service.

¹⁵ For it is God’s will and intention that by doing right [your good and honest lives] should silence (muzzle, gag) the ignorant charges and ill-informed criticisms of foolish persons.

¹⁶ [Live] as free people, [yet] without employing your freedom as a pretext for wickedness; but [live at all times] as servants of God.

¹⁷ Show respect for all men [treat them honorably]. Love the brotherhood (the Christian fraternity of which Christ is the Head). Reverence God. Honor the emperor.