The Real Me is Here
Mary Southerland
Today’s Truth
[Being with You] will fill me with joy; at Your right hand I will find pleasure forever (Psalm 16:11, NCV).
Friend to Friend
Our seven-year-old grandson was very sick and in the hospital /for
seven days. Justus had both a bacterial infection /as well as
a serious
viral infection. His fever spiked /to 106 /every night /for five days and
for three of those nights () he was listed /code red /as his heart rate
increased and his oxygen levels decreased.
The doctors from Infectious Disease scrambled /to figure out which
bacteria were causing Justus’ illness. Finally, after four days of all
questions and no answers, they switched antibiotics and Justus finally
began to improve. We all cheered /when his fever only reached 102! And I
took my first breath /since the moment he got sick.
Our daughter and son-in-law stayed with Justus /day and night. So his
little brother Hudson stayed with us. I knew () Hudson was terrified. It
seemed like the most important three people in his world were locked in
a hospital … and his best friend, his brother, was very sick. I made a
special bed /for Hudson /beside our bed /where I could reach down and pat
him during the night …
or hold his hand … or just stare at him and
pray.
One night I was getting Hudson ready for bed. We went through the
usual routine of taking a bath, picking out special pajamas, brushing
teeth, reading a book and then praying. Hudson prayed / for his brother
every night, pleading with God to make him well so he could come home.
Before tucking Hudson in for the night, I went to brush my teeth so I
wouldn’t wake him up later /when I came to bed.
When I walked back /into our bedroom, I stopped dead /in my tracks.
Our daughter had framed recent school pictures of Hudson and Justus and
given them to us as gifts. We placed them /on the bookcase /in our
bedroom /so we could pray for them every morning and every night. Hudson
had gotten the picture of Justus and sat it /on the floor beside his
bed. When I walked /into the room, Hudson was talking /to the picture,
“Justus, I love you so much! And I really, really miss you! I am telling
God how much my heart hurts without you and that I need Him to make
you well.”
* stop dead - stop moving or become immobilized;
I didn’t hear the rest of Hudson’s conversation /with his brother. I
was crying … and pretty much losing the control I had wrapped around my
heart /since Justus was hospitalized. I finally pulled myself together
enough /to pray with Hudson and tuck him in for the night.
When Justus finally came home, Hudson could hardly stand it! He was
ecstatic! He kept hugging Justus and kissing him on the cheek. Justus
finally said, “Hud, Mama told me () you slept with my picture by your bed.
Did you?” Hudson grinned and nodded yes. Justus smiled and said,
“Well, now you don’t have to sleep with my picture. The real me is
here!” Hudson’s faced beamed with joy!
And I thought about my own life … my own heart … my own relationship
with Jesus Christ. Scripture promises that the Lord’s presence brings
joy.
And yet … there are many times // when my life does not exude that joy.
Why?
Maybe I have forgotten [what it was like] when I first met Jesus - the
wonder of His presence in my life.
At times my life is too crowded for
God.
* exude (iɡˈzo͞od) ; display (an emotion or quality) strongly and openly.
It is so easy to relegate our spirituality to religious activity
/when [all He really wants] is to spend time with us.
When the tears fall,
He wants to wipe them away, collecting each one /so that He can pour
them back /into our lives /as a refreshing rain of restoration. God longs
for us to forever run into His arms, sharing every hurt and rejoicing
in every victory.
The Father yearns to wrap His strong arms around us,
bringing the peace () we so desperately need.
I desperately want the Father to bring back the new again …
and live
a life //that celebrates the amazing truth //that the real Jesus is here.
Let’s Pray
Father, I sometimes I feel like my life is spinning out of control.
I’m tired of the imbalance () I see in the way () I live.
Help me learn [how
to establish priorities //that please You and reflect Your plan for me].
I
commit /to spending time with You each day, seeking Your wisdom and
direction. I love You, Lord.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
* I
commit /to spending time with You each day, seeking Your wisdom and
direction.
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