Authors: Brea Burelle & Debbie Stovall

The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. ~ Psalm 103:15-16 NIV

At first glance these verses seem gloomy for mortal man – a reminder of the transitory nature of life. In two short verses we can see a person born, grow up, wear out this human frame, dry up, and blow away never to be thought of again. Sadly, that is the fate of those who do not know the Lord. An early morning fog that burns away and is gone is the metaphorical picture we get in James 4:14.

But God.

God enters the equation for Believers. This wisp of a life, that all of us over a certain age realize is much briefer than we could comprehend in our early years, is not just evaporating mist or a withering flower. When God enters the picture, when Jesus becomes our Savior, our lives become eternal. And Eternal life doesn’t just start when we die. It starts from the day we accept Christ. Instead of dried up weeds to turn crispy-brown in the heat, to be trod upon and forgotten, there is an eternal significance, a purpose for the rest of our mortal life on earth.

When we read these verses maybe this dandelion image above is more accurate of the Believer’s life. A dandelion doesn’t just dry up and return to soil. It sends out its delicate floating pappi like tiny little hot air balloons into unknown places. It’s not just beautiful and intriguing to little children. It’s spreading its seeds for a purpose, to create a future, to carry on with its mission.

One reason we love this little weed is because of the joy and hope it gives as it sheds its crown of seeds and becomes a bare stalk when the wind blows. As the wind of the Spirit blows through our lives, are we simply drying up and dying as the verse above indicates of mankind? Or are we releasing seeds, sending them out for the future?

What about your life? Is it releasing seeds of faith, hope and love? Is it sending out the Gospel message to be carried on long after you are gone?  It is not important for people to remember you or me when we are gone. What is important is that the seeds of our life make a positive impact for the Kingdom of God in the places they land. Are you living life today in a way that accomplishes that? Are you allowing Christ to grow fruit in your life that will develop and be ready to soar carrying the message to unknown people and places down through generations even after you are gone?

As a child my first bedtime prayer was:

“Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I should die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

The words “If I should die before I wake” have been very real lately as several of my friends have gone to sleep and not awakened. Why am I seeing so much death? Am I really that old? I don’t seem old. I guess being old is a frame of mind.

When my daughter first started working in the emergency room as a brand-new nurse, she would give us a general outline of her patients. Sometimes she would say that a patient was really old. We would ask her “How old?” She would say, “Well, they were at least 50.” Her point of reference for what was considered old was so much different than our thoughts of what is old.

When friends die that are my age, it really makes me stop to think. Have I accomplished everything in my life that I want to accomplish? More importantly, have I accomplished everything that God wants me to accomplish. If I should die before I wake, will my heavenly Father say, “well done” or “I wish you had done what I designed you to do.” Have I cared for the people who needed a helping hand? Have I encouraged the ones that were depressed and needed to be loved. Have I shared the love of Jesus with those I come in contact with? Did I love on the people who needed to be touched with the love of Jesus? Have I shared Jesus with the people who need salvation? Have I spoken all of the words to tell people that I love them with all of my heart?

If I should die before I wake, there are some things I want you to know. I love you. Read that slowly.

I LOVE you! 

If I should die before I wake, you are special to me. God has given me a love for people. I have found a special place of service in the Women’s Ministry. My small group of ladies keeps growing. I want you to know how much you mean to me. I find our friendship refreshing and encouraging. You are so dear to me. Remember that Jesus loves you and you all are amazing ladies who love the Lord.

If I should die before I wake, remember that I love bible study. God’s Word is amazing. No matter what you need to know, God’s Word addresses it. My favorite verses are Galatians 2:20 and Esther 4:14b. These are my life verses. Galatians 2:20 KJV “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Esther 4:14b “…And who knows but that you have come to this place for such a time as this?”

If I should die before I wake, remember that I love my friends. You have walked through life with me. Some friends are close and others are more like acquaintances, but God has placed you in my life for a reason. Thank you for being there.

If I should die before I wake, remember that I love my family. My husband has been my dear partner through life. At this point, we have been married 47 years. We dated for 3 years before that. I have trouble remembering life without him. Our children are precious to me. As they are now adults, I realize that they are their own persons. I pray that they will always put the Lord first. I love the precious people they married. I prayed for them before I knew who they were. My precious grandchildren are the love of my life. I am so thankful for each one and that they are being shown the love of the Lord. The other relatives that are part of our family are dear to me as well.

If I should die before I wake, remember that I love Jesus. He is Lord of my life. He is the one I turn to when I don’t understand what is going on with the world or with life in general. He died for my sins. He offered me salvation and I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior. He died for you, too. Will you accept Him as your Lord? 

If I should die before I wake, I will see you in heaven. You are precious to me. Jesus said that He was going to prepare a place for us. All I can say is that I hope your place is close to mine. I will look for you there if you go before me. If I go first, I will be waiting for you.

If I should die before I wake, I will wake up in heaven with Jesus. 

After growing up as the compliant, follow-the-rules kind of girl, I’ve arrived at late adulthood with a deep desire for grace, to understand God’s grace, to experience it, and to give grace to others.

It’s funny, not humorous funny, but odd funny, how when God is teaching you something He comes at you from a dozen different directions: scripture, people you encounter, podcasts, books you read, sermons, daily devotional articles, as well as other more unusual angles.

About a year ago our Sunday women’s class studied boundaries. At the end, I realized that I, we, probably needed to balance that out with some grace. It’s much too easy to set boundaries with harsh tones and heavy-handedness, but much harder to do it with grace. Thus began a journey of me seeking Grace and God tossing it in my face almost daily.

After scouring the online Christian bookstores I ordered four books on grace and have been reading them slowly this year. God began His work. He started pricking my conscience at every un-grace-filled behavior, word, or attitude I had. He randomly dropped into my life grace scriptures, grace podcasts, grace quotes on kitchen towels, a new friend named Grace, and a great little gift book from a friend on Grace and Truth…and then came the UPS debacle.

On the 4th of July, my husband stumbled upon an online sale at our favorite clothing store. We were planning a short trip for just us and the grandkids right before school started back, so he ordered a few things and suggested I do the same. I found time to do that later in the day – so we had two separate orders coming in about a week.

My husband’s order was delivered right on time, but I got an update that mine was delayed. I eagerly checked the tracking number each day for over a week. I looked at the doorstep every time I drove up to our home. Nothing. I had been so excited. After dropping a few pounds since last summer it was exciting to think of adding something new to the wardrobe!

After another week with no new updates coming I called customer service only to find that my order couldn’t be located. Sigh. So what then? The UPS guy suggested we file a claim.

I was sure they would locate my precious clothes. So once again I looked at the doorstep and checked the tracking info. Still nothing.

It was then I began praying.

Father, I know this is a stupid thing to pray over, but I do need something to wear that fits, and I really liked what I picked out. Could you just let it show up? But if it doesn’t, I choose to be content either way.

Another week passed. I got a notice that the claim was closed. I wouldn’t be getting what I ordered. I resolved to call on that Monday to see what I needed to do to have my money reimbursed. I must admit, I was sad. Content with what God had allowed, but disappointed.

When I called on Monday, and gave the lady my name and order number, she said, “Oh yes, we’re sorry. UPS could not deliver because your address label had gotten damaged so that they didn’t know where to send it. Let me see if we have all these in stock and we will ship you a new box.”

At that moment God decided to give me a grace gift. A silly little temporal trinket of clothing I had chosen. Nothing holy or wise or necessarily godly. Just something I desired. He was going to make a way. As the lady typed in each number she commented, “Yes, we have that still in stock in your size.” Only one was unavailable, but they had it in another color which worked! In His grace, God chose to show me His kindness and love by giving me something I wanted.

I immediately thought of several verses:

Luke 11:13 – If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

James 1:17 – Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Romans 8:32 – He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Ephesians 1:3 – Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Every gift. Not just the spiritual gifts, but every gift comes to us because of God’s grace: that house you live in, that job, that car… . He is generous and kind and loving in His giving. He gives and blesses us with every spiritual blessing, but also with daily kindnesses and physical blessings. God’s grace is abundant! It is prodigal – He always overdoes it in the giving! And His gifts are Grace-gifts; they are given not as a reward or a payment, but just because He loves us so. As we learn to see these Grace-gifts for what they are, may we first be grateful. But second, may we come to live lives that overflow with abundant grace to others. As writer Max Lucado calls it – let us live Grace-Shaped lives!

Fireworks, watermelon, American flags, cookouts, and patriotic music – these are just some of the things that make up the Fourth of July for many Americans. As we prepare to celebrate, my mind wanders back to those Independence Day celebrations of my formative years….

I recall the warnings to be careful with sparklers and firecrackers and the cold refreshment of hand-cranked homemade ice cream at the end of a sweltering July day in Alabama. I also vividly remember as a kid the first time I heard the joke “Do they have a 4th of July in England?” After thinking No, of course not, and then Why would England celebrate our independence from them; I finally realized Oh yeah, July 4th is just a date on the calendar. (I’m slow. I know.) That little moment woke me up to the rest of the world. Suddenly, I was a child of the world, not just an American. In a similar way, we as Christians in America need to wake up to the world.

As an elementary school kid, patriotism and love for our “dear ole USA” was encouraged. And as a Christian, honoring and respecting our country and its laws went hand in hand with the godly values taught. Prayers were said at school (back then) and the pledge of allegiance to the country was recited at the church Vacation Bible Schools. It was all meshed together in my mind – the whole “being an American and being a Christian” thing. Somehow faith and nationalism became mixed in the minds of many. And now we find ourselves as adult Christians who serve up Western culture right along with Christianity at times.

This Independence Day as we ooh and aah over fireworks displays set to our favorite patriotic tunes, let’s plan to do some self-evaluation.

• Let’s separate those expectations based on American traditions from expectations based on the mandates of Scripture.
• Let’s realize that respecting our country is good, but honoring God is best.
• Let’s be more concerned over the fact that the people we encounter each day are lost souls rather than that they are Democrats or Republicans – foes or friends it seems these days.
• Let’s exercise our freedom to pray and speak about Christ more than we lament how we feel those freedoms are being threatened.
• Let’s fight against those inner tendencies to buy into the American dream more than we sell out to Christ.
• Let’s respect all nations, peoples, tribes, and tongues, and develop a hunger to pray for them, relate to them, love them with the love of Christ, and reach them with the Gospel.
• Let’s treat every man, woman, and child we meet – no matter where they come from, what they look like, how they are dressed, what color their skin is, or how much the media tells us to fear them – as they truly are: men, women, and children Christ gave His life to save.

Enjoy celebrating America’s birth! Examine your perspectives. Let’s live out Scripture even when our walk is oddly out of sync with American culture. And take some time this holiday to demonstrate Christ’s love to all the folks you encounter at the fireworks display!

It looked likely to become a dark and stormy night. Suntanned and a bit tired from the day’s outing in the mountains, our family felt cheerful as we drove through the valley, trying to beat the impending bad weather to our cabin. Our chances of that began to look bleak. As Murphy’s Law would predict, anything that could go wrong did.

We had started up the west side of the Blue Ridge Mountains when we realized we’d forgotten to get gas. We turned around for the town we had passed through a few miles back, understanding that we were losing time against the rolling clouds. At the gas station it was not only fuel, but a restroom that was needed. With a family of six, that takes a bit.

After the quickest possible stop for fuel, we once again headed up the two-lane road over the mountains. Dusk was coming quickly for us on the unfamiliar winding highway. About ten minutes into the climb we drove into a wall of cloud. Not just a gentle lowland fog like we were used to, but an honest-to-goodness, totally opaque cloud. Immediately, we had to slow down. Headlights couldn’t penetrate the fog bank; in fact, they made visibility worse as our headlights reflected back off the water droplets of the fog.

We were traveling in a rather new vehicle and had no clue how to turn on the fog lights. After creeping along a quarter of a mile or so, we caught a glimpse of a sign for a scenic pull-off. Cautiously wrangling the car into the pull-off, we parked and grabbed the User’s Manual to figure out the fog lights.

We managed to get them on and pulled back onto the road hoping the fog was temporary and would have abated some. But no, if anything it was getting more dense. Even with the fog lights to help visibility, I had to slow down to 5-10 miles per hour. My husband, concerned about a low shoulder or drop off, rolled down his window and stuck his head out to make sure I was within the line marking the edge of the pavement.

It was a tense period of time. The kids were hushed in the back seat sensing our tension. I had a white knuckle grip on the wheel, and my husband spoke only as necessary to give me driving warnings or encouragement as we crept higher into the mountain fog. Some relief came as we felt ourselves top the mountain and begin our descent into the valley on the other side.

Although it seemed like hours of creeping through the fog, in reality it was probably thirty minutes or less until we broke out of the fog when we were several hundred feet down the other side. As suddenly as it had come the fog was gone. The tension in the car broke with exhaled breaths, and a bit of lighthearted chatter picked back up.

Why do I tell this long story? I’m glad you asked.

In life we may be cruising along having a happy time – then suddenly, we are hit with the unexpected. It often feels quite like my trip through that fog bank.

The Problem.

The Solution.

Our only recourse in those foggy life adventures, is to do what we know to do. That includes:

• pray
• dig in the Word
• seek godly wisdom from others who have gone through the situation
• wait in faith for God to bring us through the murky mess
• turn loose of control

As you face your next crisis, storm, or trial, remember these steps, and the following verses. The Father will guide you through your fog bank.

Isaiah 64:4 – Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

Psalm 139:1-5 – You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before,  and you lay your hand upon me.

Genesis 50:19-20 –  But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

Romans 8:28 & 32 – And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. … ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?