Defining Moments

Becoming a grandmother has quickly become one of those moments in life that changes everything! I’ve spent months preparing for it and thinking about it and still it seems surreal. I’ve looked forward to our grandson’s arrival since a few weeks after his conception, but until I held him in my arms, I didn’t really know what to expect. This new little life consumes much of my thoughts, countless prayers (mostly of thanksgiving), and already hours of my night’s sleep. He is wonderful and that hardly covers it!

My life is full of these milestones, markers that stand out on the canvas of my days when I look back across time. This perspective is as valuable to my faith walk as is looking ahead to what’s to come.

Hebrews 11 is known as the Roll Call of Faith. God’s people were to recall their rich heritage to see what faith looked like in the lives of ordinary people who believed God for extraordinary things.

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Hebrews 11:1-2 , 6 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.11.1-2,6.NIV

Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, Daniel- all easily recognizable from childhood Bible stories- are commended for their acts of faith. They are held up as examples of perseverance under less than perfect circumstances, often with the odds stacked against them. Their stories are really not so different than ours.

Abraham was instructed to leave his home and go to a place God would show him. Hasn’t God ever moved you, prompting you to take a step of faith into the unknown?

Noah was asked to build something that had never been built before, something that seemed nonsensical, but God provided the plan and the populated it. Has God ever given you an idea that seemed completely counterintuitive? Were you ridiculed but you chose to follow through and you saw God show up in a big way?

Joseph was stripped of his life of luxury as his father’s favorite and sold as a slave by the ones who should’ve protected him. He was unfairly accused, imprisoned and forgotten for a time, but he was able to say to his brothers, “what you meant for evil, God meant for good and the saving of many lives.” You’ve surely been misunderstood, misrepresented, ill-used, or overlooked at one time or another. In those times, how has God encouraged you and given you strength to carry on?

“These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”

Hebrews 11:39-40 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.11.39-40.NIV

“Since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect,” I hold firmly to the faith I profess. (Hebrews 4:14)

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

Hebrews 10:23 NIV

https://hebrews.bible/hebrews-10-23

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.12.1-2.NIV

I’m not certain what God has planned for me in this season, but I am so very grateful for it! I’m certain being a grandmother will change me in ways I can’t even imagine, but that’s the exciting thing about trusting God and surrendering to His way! It’s always more than all I can hope for or imagine!

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.3.20-21.NIV

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for the gift of life. Thank You for love and family. I praise You that You are Love, wider, longer, higher, and deeper than I can comprehend. (Ephesians 3:18) I have such a rich heritage of faith in both my biological family and my spiritual family, the Church. May my faith be grounded and built up in the knowledge of Your ultimate sacrifice on the cross and Your resurrection from the dead. May I neither live in the past nor pine for the future, but making the most of every moment, may my every breath bring You the glory and honor You’re due! In the precious name of Jesus I pray. Amen.