The one thing

The storms are hitting us. There are hurricanes, tsunami's, and earthquakes. There is flooding, and debris, and loss of life. And there are choices in the middle of all of them.

In that first moment of a fear you are certain will only deepen, the question arises: "What do I grab?"

I've been thinking about this all week as I pray for those affected by the present-day storms, and I'm thinking about it again this morning as I walk my Beagle through a neighborhood lined with houses that stand completely intact, and decorated lawns that lie unchanged from the night before.

I'm alone with the One who not only created the heavens and the earth, but who also controls the events that play-out in the every day.

And I'm talking to Him, because all of His fullness dwells within me in Spirit-form.

In the quiet of the walk, my heart ponders those things that I know are more important than the material waste all around me, and I ask:

What would I take in that moment of desperation? What would my hands reach for as the devastating storm approaches?

Would I grab the only baby picture I have of my mother?

Would I reach for the journals I've poured my heart into over the years?

Would I take my Bible, the one that records names and notes that remind me to pray?

I cannot take the buffet that once sat in my grandmother's home, or the Jeep I waited to drive since I was a teenager.

I may not even be able to grab the dog who searches for my warmth in every room she enters (oh, the horror of that thought!)

So what would I take in that split-second moment of decision? What is the one thing that is necessary?

I think it's the one thing Moses said was necessary for life.

The one thing that James said is able to save and preserve our souls.

It's the one thing that Israel needed most, yet yearned for the physical substitute of it more.

Words.

Words that come from our lips today, and words that have been coming from the mouth of the Lord since the day He began to speak everything into being.

Words are the one thing we can take into the next generation.

My children will not know about the grandmother they were never able to meet unless I speak about her now; unless I tell them her story.

My grandchildren will not know the depth of my love for their grandfather, their mother/father, and for the Lord God Himself unless words are spoken into their ears from my children.

My students, friends, the child in Mexico, and the Shuar will not know that I pray for them with a full heart every day unless I tell them now.

These are the only thing we have in a storm (words that warn, words that direct our path, and words that save our physical bodies from danger). And they are really the only thing that remains from the devastating debris left in a storm's path.

So my challenge of today is to prepare for the storms that will certainly come in this life, and to do that I must be full of the words I want to taken into my tomorrow's.

What are the words I want to be remembered forever by the people I leave behind?

The ones that tell the stories of those I've loved long and hard on this earth? Absolutely.

But the more important words will be those that man cannot live without--words that save the soul; words that are necessary for life.

For the past thirty-seven years, I've held onto God's words, and they still prove to be the one thing that is necessary in every storm.

If you knew that today was your last day on this earth, what words would you want coming from your lips today which will seep into every one else's tomorrow?

Maybe the better question is: How are you preparing?

#Thankfuls #Journal #Gracemoments #Meditations