But, have you ever thought about how a garage door opener will only work so many times? Thirty-eight years of living with an extremely intelligent, mechanically-minded engineer has drilled this concept into my mind:

Things only work for so long before they don’t.

At some point, they will simply stop.

Just stop.

Everything will.

It’s guaranteed.

The struggles of my past few years have really brought home to me that the same is true for us. We’ve been given a limited number of moments, only so many breaths. Every one of them matters. It’s becoming increasingly important to me to spend them well. So I ponder this often.

And, really, if we’re honest, we’re all struggling, right? It may be Lupus, loss, or lies. Anxiety, anger, apathy, addiction, cancer, callousness, disease, depression, or discouragement.

No matter how fantastically beautiful we may be from the outside – no matter how “okay” we like to portray ourselves – we all have something plaguing us. You know I speak the truth.

Nobody gets through this life unscathed.

So, with this in mind, how do we live out the time we’ve been given? It’s our choice.

Do we allow the uglies of this life to dampen our moments?

Do we let disease drain the hope from us, even as it steals our strength?

Do the worries of what others may think silence what our hearts long to speak?

Do we avoid the investment of connection so we can protect ourselves from rejection?

Do we miss opportunities because we’re afraid to try?

Do we let mistakes from our past keep us shackled to forever failure?

We don’t have to, my friends.

By God’s grace, we don’t have to let any of this happen.

Because we have Jesus.

He came to heal us from all that. He left glory and walked this earth to show us how to love, how to live, how to cope. He taught us how we can be strong, and where to go when we’re weak.

Mostly He came to rescue us from ourselves. He cleansed us. Redeemed and saved us. All through grace. All by faith. We didn’t deserve it, but He did it anyways. His love is amazing.

Read about Him.

Get to know Him.

Trust Him.

I know the beauty of His grace, I’ve personally experienced it. It’s mine forever, but sometimes I forget.

Sometimes my tangles overwhelm me, and I become numbed to it. Sometimes I wish for a magic button that would move all those giant walls out of my way. After struggling so much lately through some of my weaker moments, the idea of an easy go of it can be extremely appealing at times.

But I know better. Easy may seem beautiful, especially when you’re tired. But it won’t make us strong.

It weakens us.

Makes us lazy.

So, God brings me back from those thoughts. Again. His love literally reaches out and brings me back from that weak, dark place. He reminds me of Himself. He reminds me that it’s the moments of HIS story that matter.

Not mine.

His moments are what give mine the beauty.

They give me the strength.

Truly.

I just have to keep trusting.

Today He spoke directly to my heart through this video. I’ve actually shared this song before, but I just “re-found” this particular video this morning. I know, I know … YouTube can be annoying with the commercials … but please see past that. Please take a moment to sit back, click the link below, and listen to this artist sing his heart. Watch his joy. You can see it! Experience it. It’s compelling. Seriously.

Today this is how God reminded me. He lifted me with this, and I’ve been nudged to share its message with you. My prayer is that it lifts you, as well.

I also pray you’ll be able to live your time with bold purpose and unwavering trust, no matter your story. I pray your eyes will be opened to see the value and beauty in your moments. I pray you’ll see God’s love and purpose in every, single one of them.

And, most of all, I pray that those shackles holding you down will be broken, setting you free to run straight into the open arms of Hope.

Thanks for growing with me.  

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)