The past two years for my family have stretched us to lengths I didn’t think possible. Or normal. But because of this stretching, I have seen seasons of distant relationships and thick bonding moments. All good things, as I’m always reminded in Romans 8:28, but we are still a remarkably busy family. And our individual selves are even busier.

​Well, my sisters are busy; I’m just along for the ride, right? ‘Cause, as usual, I just have school.

During the summer months I really enjoy hiking.  I particularly enjoy hikes that lead uphill and into the mountains because the view at the top is so beautiful and rewarding.  Living in Alaska, there are plenty of such hiking trails. In addition to the majestic views from high mountainsides, I also enjoy seeing all the wildflowers.  Although there are many varieties of wildflowers to be seen on almost any hike, there is one flower that I have admired hike after hike for a few years.  It is called the windflower. 

​The windflower itself is rather plain.  It grows just a few inches tall and has five simple, round, pure white petals.  I have taken notice of this flower not so much for its appearance, but for where it grows, as it seems to grow in the most unlikely of places.  I see this flower growing well above tree line fully exposed to the driving winds and sometimes harsh weather conditions we experience even during the summer.  Besides this, it grows in some of the rockiest soil, oftentimes having less than half an inch of soil to grow in atop massive boulders.  And yet these small windflowers bravely put forth their blossoms adding delicate beauty to the rugged mountain terrain.  

Last time, we unpacked the glorious promise of Jeremiah 31:14, realizing that God wants to satiate our souls with living water and soak our lives in His all-sufficient presence.  This is a wonderful truth to apply to our lives; but most of us fall short of living it as we should.  We know that our Lord is all we truly need—that He alone can bring lasting satisfaction—but we focus our energies on earthly things as if they will fulfill and complete us.  We convince ourselves that “if only” we could have this thing or reach that place or become this different person, we would finally be happy; and instead, we wind up empty and miserable.  Our gracious Heavenly Father wants much more for us than this!  He wants us to know true satisfaction, to walk through each day with joy, and to showcase His glory before an empty, miserable world.  His vision for His children is not merely to survive the daily grind, but to thrive in the midst of its challenges.  Here is a description of the life He wants for us.  The last verse is one you will recognize.  “. . . [A]nd they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord . . . [T]heir life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more. . . . I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.  I will [satiate] the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord” (Jer. 31:12-14 ESV – emphasis added; same for the following verses).

We finished last time with the reminder that believers are “a royal priesthood” (1 Pet. 2:9), separated unto God for holy purposes.  A wonderful promise comes with this separation.  God spoke it to the tribe of Levi in Leviticus 18:2: “Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren; the LORD is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them.”  God Himself wants to be our inheritance, our portion!  No thing(s) He could ever give us would be equal to the gift of Himself.  He said this to Abraham in Genesis 15:1b: “. . .  Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”  In Him alone is all we really need and more than we could ever want.  No one else in all the universe has the ability to satisfy us fully; but our all-sufficient God can and will.  Here is His promise to us: “And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness [abundance], and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD” (Jer. 31:14).  Let's explore a little bit of what this promise means.

God's family is diverse yet unified.  He draws people with different gifts and experiences and melds them into one body, the head of which is Christ (Eph. 5:23).  Members of the body may have unique functions (1 Cor. 12), but all of us share the same calling—the same identity and purpose in Christ. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Pet. 2:9).

Recently I was reading through an old journal and found some lessons the Lord had taught me about "wholehearted devotion to Christ." It was good for me to be reminded of these things, and I thought I would share with you as well!
   
First Corinthians 7:34 tells us that our single years are a priceless opportunity to serve the Lord without distraction. But sometimes it seems like the longer we wait, the easier it can be to become distracted. :) (I remember reading Titus 2:13 "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ," and being challenged to stay on the "look-out" for the glorious appearing of my Savior, not the glorious appearing of someone else! :)) How can we keep our eyes on Christ and offer Him single-hearted devotion during this season of our lives?
     
​God used the life of Ezekiel to teach me some important truths along these lines. Read with me about the Lord's calling on Ezekiel's life: "And He said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against Me: they and their fathers have transgressed against Me, even unto this very day. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. And thou shalt speak My words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee." - Ezekiel 2:3-8

​Last year when our family of ten was living in a camper volunteering at a ministry in Flagstaff, Arizona, after five months of living in the same camper on a horse ranch—Sermon on the Mount—in Oklahoma, I finally had this wonderful opportunity to use a full-sized kitchen which was located in the welcome center next to where we parked our camper. With more thankfulness than ever, I resumed the daily task of feeding my large crew.

After you breathe your last breath, two things happen.

First, if you are a Christian, you will be welcomed into the arms of a loving Heavenly Father who has been waiting for your arrival. Second, your family will start trying to sum up your life by writing the epitaph for your tombstone.

And they may have to do it in just one sentence. One sentence to describe your achievements. Your victories. Your joys and maybe even your sorrows. It is a chance to tell what made you YOU. A chance to leave a legacy in stone that will stand the test of time.

One sentence to describe what you did with the life God gave you.

If you died tomorrow, what do you think it would say?

​Stop reading for a moment and think about that. What does it say now? What do you want it to say?