There have been many surreal moments in my life. You know those moments, when you are in the middle of something and all of the sudden recognize it is really happening. I could count my ordination this way, my first call, and having children, but the day that truly stands out the most is my wedding day. I know I am the sappy, lovey-dovey husband. Anyone that knows me knows I wanted to be married very badly. When that day finally came, it was truly hard to believe it was happening. Now, after almost a decade of being married, the surreal feeling from that day has turned into a foundation of walking with each other on the journey of life. While the wedding day is long gone, I will never forget what happened and how it felt.
This past weekend at the Epiphany party, they took time to go around the room and ask how long couples had been married. It was cool to hear how many years of marriage were in that room. I can only imagine the surreal moments that began their marriage and the foundations of those marriages today. Recently one of the people who has had a long marriage said, “Those of you who are married – always work it out!”
In a world with sin, those surreal moments quickly fade and we are faced with the tough realities of the challenges we face in life. Whatever your surreal moment is, your wedding day or something else, I’m sure you’ve experienced the fade. So how do we make it through the challenges?
This week in our reading when John the Baptist saw Jesus publically, he had a very surreal reaction. While they had been connected along the way, we don’t know how much they interacted. That day we know that John the Baptist was baptizing and doing his thing preparing the way for Jesus, and then – bang – Jesus was there! It had to be so surreal. Good thing John didn’t know how intense the journey for Jesus and him was going to be. Right then John was living in the moment, treasuring the fact that Jesus was there. He was pumped! The journey was about to take off!
All too often the bitterness of life can get us to miss the moments Jesus has us in right now. While there was so much to come (with Jesus going to the cross and redeeming all people), John didn’t want to miss what was happening when Jesus first showed up on the scene. The new year will bring lots of moments, some great and some tough, but Jesus will always show up in the midst of it. How will you prepare for the tough ones and treasure the surreal moments? Are you ready to live in the moment with Jesus every day?
This past weekend at the Epiphany party, they took time to go around the room and ask how long couples had been married. It was cool to hear how many years of marriage were in that room. I can only imagine the surreal moments that began their marriage and the foundations of those marriages today. Recently one of the people who has had a long marriage said, “Those of you who are married – always work it out!”
In a world with sin, those surreal moments quickly fade and we are faced with the tough realities of the challenges we face in life. Whatever your surreal moment is, your wedding day or something else, I’m sure you’ve experienced the fade. So how do we make it through the challenges?
This week in our reading when John the Baptist saw Jesus publically, he had a very surreal reaction. While they had been connected along the way, we don’t know how much they interacted. That day we know that John the Baptist was baptizing and doing his thing preparing the way for Jesus, and then – bang – Jesus was there! It had to be so surreal. Good thing John didn’t know how intense the journey for Jesus and him was going to be. Right then John was living in the moment, treasuring the fact that Jesus was there. He was pumped! The journey was about to take off!
All too often the bitterness of life can get us to miss the moments Jesus has us in right now. While there was so much to come (with Jesus going to the cross and redeeming all people), John didn’t want to miss what was happening when Jesus first showed up on the scene. The new year will bring lots of moments, some great and some tough, but Jesus will always show up in the midst of it. How will you prepare for the tough ones and treasure the surreal moments? Are you ready to live in the moment with Jesus every day?
No comments:
Post a Comment