It happens in a blink...

It is a bizarre phenomena that occurs when something happens that manages to literally stop the world that spins around us. More times than not those moments when our world stops it is due to an immense heartbreak. I've experienced this unique time standstill a few to many times in the past few years. It is in these moments that we gain an incredible amount of clarity, the monotony of life exists no more and you are sure things will never be the same again. It has always amazed me the resilience of humans, we have a tremendous capacity for love, for grief, and all that goes in-between.

For me the only way to navigate those moments, when you're in the storm, is by the grace of God. I certainly couldn't have survived by my own will over the past few years, and the loss that they have delivered. Looking back now I am keenly aware that in those painful moments, when your heart hurts like it never has before, God is refining you. It is in those moments you are given the gift of perspective, the wisdom to behold the bigger picture. We forget it all to often, that this broken world is only but a momentary stop on the journey.

We are consumed so often by things that have little value in that bigger picture. Money, status, careers, and material goods take precedence over relationships, and we might continue on in this pursuit of the world until we are jolted back to our senses by reality...the reality that our time is precious, and what we do with it is the ultimate act of stewardship. Tonight a prayer request did just that for me. I spent my day as I do most days, focusing on my own troubles. Worrying about the numbers on the scale, stressing over finances, scolding my kids for making messes in my clean house. Then in a moment you hear that someone's life has just changed,  an ordinary day for a family has turned into uncertainty and heartache.

Suddenly the things that have consumed my thoughts seem insignificant. Hebrews 13:14 "This world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come." That beautiful gift of clarity.

In the loss of to many loved ones in the recent years, I've felt anguish so vividly. You believe those wounds will remain unfastened, that your hurt will forever be gaping, open, and raw. And yet over time, we heal. Those wounds scar, and the hurt dulls. But with that healing we lose some of our lucidity. Not that I prefer we feel the pain indefinitely, but I wish we held onto the messages that we glean from those experiences more closer to the vest.

If I invested my time into loving, praying for, and serving others instead of entertaining doubt, worry, and a myriad of other unproductive thoughts...what a purpose I would have. I realized more recently that my journey to lose weight was only part of the process...that my weaknesses are merely symptoms to something much more. God is slowly cutting the tethers that I have wedged deep into this world, and trusting His purpose for my life has been more challenging than any diet I've ever been on.