"Holding On Too Tightly"

So, a couple of days ago it was Mother's Day and Mer already blogged about that, but I wanted to talk to you about the sermon that was preached on Mother's Day at my church. The pastor of my church is a male and he generally always speaks, so to see his wife walk onto the stage was quite exciting. A quick background story on her, she was diagnosed with cancer about two years ago and went through a lot of treatments and medicines. She was cancer free for a short while and then a couple of months ago they found it again, only this time in her liver. Luckily, parts of the liver can be removed and it will grow back, so that is what she did. She is currently going through a really hard time and the medicines are taking a toll on her body, but nevertheless, she still felt led to preach to the women of our church. Her sermon was beautiful, and although I am not a mother, I still cried three times haha. She is a walking testimony that shines so radiantly.

She talked about how we as women are engineered to 'hold on' to things, whether it be children, words that were said, thoughts, tasks, etc. It is hard for us to let things go and out of our control. Then she talked about the story in Exodus 2:1-10. The story is about a baby named Moses who was born during the time when boys were unacceptable and thrown into the Nile River once they were born. We learned that the Nile is filled with the most vicious crocodiles who do not know the difference between prey and people so they attack whatever moves. Which means they most likely ate the innocent baby boys that were thrown into the Nile River. So, as you know, Moses lived with his birth mother until he was about three months old and then his mother knew he would be hard to keep safe because he was growing and making noises that may attract the people. This mother had to put her infant child into a basket, cover him, and carry him to the Nile River where she would have to put all her trust into God keeping her baby boy safe. Now think, this mother had to carry her baby in a basket and she had to have loosely carried that basket so people were not suspicious. Can you imagine? Lightly swinging your baby around, walking him to a place where he could be instantly killed? I would be torn apart, but this is where her sermon got really cool. She made the point that we cannot hold onto the things we love so tightly. God is our creator, He knows exactly what is going to happen to each one of us no matter how hard we try to make things happen on our own.  So, why do we try so hard to make things happen the way we want them to? Now, I know that putting your baby into a crocodile infested river is extreme, but this mother had to do it, litterally putting all of her trust in our Lord and letting loose of the thing she loved most. Then we come to find out that God had extraordinary plans for this child's life, you know, parting the Red Sea and everything. Then she went on to speak about an analogy she once heard, the dot and line analogy. She told us we cannot live focusing only on the dot. The dot is only here and now, where the line is eternal and where our focus must be and stay. Yes, the here and now is what we are living and breathing so it is easy to get caught up in, but the line is our eternal life with Jesus Christ and is our ultimate goal. There will be many trials and tribulations during this dot of time we are in, but the line we are going to soon be apart of is worth all the suffering this world allows us to go through. 

This sermon really opened my eyes to the way I look at life, and then coincidentally, my friend who you all were introduced to last week, Coco, sent me the devotional from today’s Jesus Calling book. The words fit so perfectly with the sermon I heard yesterday and they are a great assurance that God has plans for our lives, so there’s no need to hold on so tightly to anything but Him.

"Thank Me in the midst of the crucible. When things seem all wrong, look for growth opportunities. Especially, look for areas when you need to let go, leaving your cares in My able hands. Do you trust Me to orchestrate your life events as I choose, or are you still trying to make things go according to your will? If you keep trying to carry out your intentions while I am leading you in another direction, you deify your desires. Be on the lookout for what I am doing in your life. Worship Me by living close to Me, thanking Me in all circumstances. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. - 1 Peter 5: 6-7 Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:18"

Pretty powerful, huh? I hope these words have spoken to you the way they have spoken to me.

Until next time,