Part of the Louvre, a building with a pretty incredible history and story to tell. Being in England and France has made me think a lot about history, the past and what is left behind. London and Paris are full of history around every corner and down every street. I always think about what stories these old buildings would tell if they could talk. What famous person stayed in them? What wars and changes have they seen come and go? What would they tell us about the city they reside in, the people that live there and the character and heritage these people have left? I'm fortunate that I have a pretty incredible heritage. As I reflect on my life, the life of my parents and my grandparents I see God in each generation pouring his love and provision on each of us. My mom's parents were some of the most godly, hard-working people you could meet. They taught us to love God, love others and make family a priority. When they died, the memories and stories that were told about them, revolved around people who no were not perfect, but chose to take a certain path where they gave love and sacrificed to pass on an amazing heritage to their kids, grandkids and great grandkids. My dad's mom (my grandfather died when I was very young, so I unfortunately don't remember him) was one of the most generous people you would meet. She had the memory of a much younger person and she never failed to call each of us on our birthdays. How she remembered all of them, I cannot fathom. You see my dad was one of 7 kids and there are so many cousins and second cousins, I can't even put a number on it, yet she never missed a chance to call and give us a birthday wish and say I love you. She opened her home to anyone who needed a warm place to sleep or a hot meal never thinking if herself. Then there are my parents. From my earliest memories, we always had an open door policy to anyone who needed help. We have funny and scary stories about some of the unsavory characters my dad helped along the way. My house was always the hang out place and my parents were always the second parents to my friends. It was the same for my older siblings. We learned early on that generosity and showing and sharing God's love, was just part of life. As you can see I was blessed to have an incredible and godly heritage. Why do I share this? It's not simply to brag on my family (they are incredible though), but more importantly to help myself and those in our generation to think about the heritage we are leaving behind. What are we doing to pass on a godly heritage to our children and their generation? Have we lost sight of this in our technology minded, fast-paced society? Have we shown them how to be unselfish and generous by being selfless and giving to those around us? Have we made our lives only about what we want or do we truly care about others? I for one know that I haven't often done a great job of this. I get caught up in my own desires and needs and forget to show Kaitlyn how to truly love others like God loves us. I am determined to continue the godly heritage that has been passed onto me. I believe that during this Christmas season, we should take the opportunity to look outside of ourselves, our wants, our needs and desires and do some things to show God's love to a world full of darkness, sadness and pain. I hope you will join with me in caring about the heritage you are passing on to your children's generation as well as generations to follow. Just like those old buildings in London and France, I want the stories my life tells to be full of joy, love, generosity and most importantly God's love.
0 Comments
The Shard building stands behind a cathedral that is over a 1,000 years old Here I sit in another country, on another continent and all I can think about is how God is working on and in me. Yes, I've shared my journey with each of you and yes, I've always tried to be transparent, but honestly in recent months I've felt like I've veered off the path God had planned for me and allowed my own desires, hopes, dreams and wants overtake His will for my life. With my new home almost complete and with lots of changes taking place in our life, it has made me reflect on God and what I'm working to allow Him to change within me.
You see I have peace for the first time in a long time. I have hope that He has plans for our future. I see Kaitlyn moving into a new phase, with a new attitude and hope and it makes me feel incredibly blessed. God has promised to do a new work within us if we allow Him to. We never have to worry that He has the best desires for our hope and future because He ALWAYS does. The part that you and I tend to get caught up in, is our own agenda and not trusting His timing. We want it our way and as I've written about recently, I'm not a patient person, so these concepts are especially hard for me. I've thought about this new Amy and how God is working, convicting, cultivating and stretching me and how He is bringing me back to being all He has planned for me. While I've toured London with Kaitlyn we have seen some incredible buildings, sites and learned some great history. One of the many things that has struck me here is the reality of having a 1,000 year old building standing next to and in stark contrast to a building like the Shard in London. Is one better than another? Does the beautifully designed old cathedral mean more than an engineering feat like the Shard? They both have beauty. They both represent someone designing, creating and building their vision. When I look at my life, I see a lot of old, broken, but beautiful buildings. They may be sad in some ways, but they also are my history and my past and they still line the streets of my life. I also see these new things God is doing in my heart and life. He is building something beautiful that will become an engineering feat in my life. Something I could never imagine or believe was possible after my pain and sadness. God is working on this old, broken down building and I'm excited to see how He will continue to build me into something new. What work do you need to allow God to do in you? Have you veered from His path? Have you allowed your own desires, wants and plans to cloud what He has planned for you? Do you have some broken, but beautiful buildings that line your path that you know need to not be the only buildings in your life? All He wants is the best plans for you. Your journey to becoming new and all He wants for you may not be easy, but if you and I turn to him, He has promised to make us new creatures. Let's allow God to build us into His beautifully designed creation. This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT |
Amy C.A young widow searching and sharing God's goodness. Archives
June 2018
Categories |