Walking With Christ

Philippians 4:12-13
(12)I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. (13)I can do all things through him who strengthens me.(ESV)

There are days that I’m simply not ok. There are days that I don’t want to get out of bed, deal with people, go to work, feel anything, eat anything, or even exist. There are days that I don’t want to feel good or bad.

Then there are days that I don’t want to stop feeling whatever it is I’m feeling. I don’t want to stop laughing. I don’t want to stop crying. I don’t want to do anything but sit in the moment I’m in for an extended period of time, because in that moment I feel alive in ways that some people will never understand. It could be the most painful moment in memory, but I want to live in that moment and experience it to the fullest extent possible. It could be the dumbest joke a person has ever told me, but I still want to hang on to that tiny, involuntary laugh and the context of that moment that few catch. It’s the twinkle in that person’s eye when they realize that they made me laugh. It’s my realization that they thought of me as someone who they would want to share that silly laugh with. It’s that tiny spark of humanity that owes so much to the very nature of our loving God who lets His image shine through us in that we can be connected and revived by something so insignificant as a single moment in time.

I truly treasure these moments, both good and bad. I don’t want to block out or forget even the smallest details of these magical moments of our lives because so much of who we are and the true face of God can be seen in these moments that don’t seem very important. It’s just a flicker and then the moment is gone. The pain has passed. The laughter fades. The next moment is upon us too fast for us to stop and appreciate the absolute truth found in those tiny moments.

It’s for this reason that the following will always be my favorite section of scripture. This has gotten me through so many valleys and reminded me to appreciate every mountain top view. It all lasts but a moment and then the moment is gone. This too shall pass…

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
(1)For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter 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 seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
(7)a time to tear, 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.(ESV)