Sunday, August 26, 2012

Spirit Overflow

As God shows me how to face incredible challenges, He teaches me that these trials in our life are an opportunity to become closer in our relationship with Him.  They are an opportunity to grow and to become more Christ-like.  Our time here is short and I believe we need to be about God's business every day.  As my family knows, my mom is very ill.  In fact, she is in the hospital as I type this.  On my "Retreat with God" last week, God revealed much to me about our time here and my work in serving Him.  When I returned, I wrote this letter to my mom:


Dear  Mom,

 

Thank you for giving me life.   Thank you for being an involved parent.  Thank you for loving me with all your heart.  Thank for you taking me to church when I was young and sending me to a Catholic school.  Thank you for loving my children and being an involved grandparent.  Thank you for always traveling to the grandkids’ games to see them play their sports and watch their school events.  Thank you for sending them letters in the mail when we lived far apart. 

 

God created us, knows us and loves us.  He has a plan for us and guides us with love and grace.  It is a privilege to live this life, to come to know Christ and to have the opportunity to serve Him.  I would not be who I am today without Him.  I would not survive the death of Carter without Him.  By accepting Christ and asking Him to teach me His ways, I am able to find peace in a very hard world.  I am able to find joy and give praise for His blessings every day through the pain.  God is faithful.

 

We are all here to become more Christ-like.  Difficult circumstances like trials, suffering, pain, illness, create a change in us --- compassion, patience, faithfulness, etc.    You know what it is like to suffer daily with a chronic illness.  My own personal trials and suffering has developed patience and faithfulness.  It is awareness for me that my concerns here and now matter so little compared to my eternal life to come.  This has changed the way I live, and as our family focuses on our life for Christ, we long to be in our eternal Home and live forever with Him.  This allows us to know and feel joy in the midst of sorrow, pain and worry.  I pray that you can feel the same through your suffering.  This change allows us to live with a grateful heart – to give thanks in all circumstances.  To praise God in all circumstances that God fulfills His promises, He is faithful, His grace is sufficient and our eternal life is assured.  We are thankful for you!

 

I always knew there was a God.  I did not grow and long to know Him until I thought about what I wanted for my own children.  At the age of 27, I started reading the Bible and developed a relationship with a living, loving God.  Since then, we incorporate Jesus into our daily life and thoughts.  We speak His name from the time we get up in the morning until we go to bed at night.  We have a son and brother to Bradley that lives with Jesus, and we all look forward to the day when we are together again.  We live a life of prayer to the One who gave His life for us.  Heaven is real!  The joys of heaven will more than compensate for the difficulties of earth.  We pray for you every day and give praise for the time that we are able to spend with you.

 

“For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.  And since we are his children, we are his heirs.  In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.  But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.  Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”  Romans 8:16-18

 

 

I love you,

Nicole
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 We are all here, created by God, and He knows each and every one of us.  God is calling for us.  He calls for us to know Him.  When we find God and seek Him, we long to know Him.  The more we long to know Him, the more we long to be with Him.



Click on the link below to listen to "Overflow" by Chris Tomlin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEST3lChIv4



Carter making Grandma Deb her walking stick - September, 2010

 
 

3 comments:

Pat said...

A lovely letter to your Mother and my friend, Deb. May the Lord Bless you as you share your faith with her and others.

Sheila said...

Thank you for sharing so deeply with all of us. You have two little boys in heaven who will also welcome their Grandma Debbie when her time comes.....but selfishly, we hope it isn't for a while longer.

Marlene Jones said...

You are and incredibly strong woman Nicole. You inspire me all the time. I thank you for sharing this letter. I pray your mom recovers and is with you for a long while.
Marlene Jones