I
was just thinking about ...
Waiting at the Pearly Gates
Sorry about the delay in getting the devotion up this week. There are times when it seems as if nothing is speaking to me. No inspiration popped up anywhere. I was beginning to panic. I figured I would go on to the church and if I came up with some inspiration, I’ll email it over to Kim and have her post it. So I got dressed for work and came out of the bedroom to the sound of water running. “Hmm, Kim must be in the shower,” I thought, “I’ll let her know later.” Something outside the bathroom door caught my eye, though. It looked like a small black piece of clothing. Melissa must have dropped something on the way to the dirty clothes hamper. I went over to pick it up knowing that if Ginsu chewed up any of her clothing, his life expectancy would be cut in half, at best! But just as I bent over to pick up the unidentified piece of material, it looked up at me, wagged its tail and then focused its attention on the bottom of the door again.
It was Ginsu, lying on the floor, shoved up against the bathroom door. I noticed that one paw was shoved as far as it would go under the door. Evidently, he didn’t care for Kim shutting the door on him. But he wasn’t barking or pacing or scratching at the door. He was deadly quiet, focused intently for any sounds or movements that would tell him his beloved holder would emerge from her hiding. He only looked back at me for a moment as if to say, “I am not a piece of cloth, thank you very much. Please don’t pick me up, I might miss getting picked up.”
Does something in that not make sense? I mean, really now, I might not be as loving or as cuddling as Kim, but does that mean my holding him is not desirable? Well, he made his choice … and I made mine. I picked him up anyway. He could enjoy it or not. But I was going to, whether he liked it or not. But in these few actions, came my inspiration. How many of us miss enjoying life because we are totally focused on the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ? That’s the question to ponder this week.
It is a given, the heavenly reunion that all Christians look forward to will be greater than anything we have on earth. (Duh!) But isn’t there a lot here that is desirable and that brings great joy and happiness? If we can’t get our eyes off the horizon of our existence, we will miss all the smiles, and flowers and laughter and thrills that are swimming all around us. I recently did a Bible study on Song of Songs. I noticed that it was hard to focus on it as a love story. Instead we were constantly trying to see it as a connection between God and humankind. We had difficulty admiring the beauty of attraction, of sensuality, of romance; all of which were given to us by our Creator, who had our best interests in mind.
Every chance you get, enjoy all this world has to offer. Take time to admire the beauty in a smile, hold a baby, rub a child’s head, pet an animal, kiss your spouse, smell the flowers, sing a song, lay in the sunshine, eat some dessert or just sit and feel the wind flow across your face. And remember all the while; each one is a gift from a generous, loving God. Go ahead and glance at the Pearly Gates, but don’t leave unopened all the presents God has lying all about. In the meantime,
Drop
on by anytime, I'll be here and so will God,
Dennis