More to this LIFE???

Maybe its because the last two weeks have been filled with heart ache, sorrow and grief. Maybe its because I have been so sad for dear friends who have lost a loved one. Maybe the two deaths within 10 days of each other has me melancholy. Or maybe its because I've wondered if there's more to this life than living and then dying -and wondering what is the deal with the in between, the years after birth and before death.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says;
" God has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end"
Eternity?? in the hearts of men??
I have missed that lately. Why is it that we think this life, the one we are given to live on earth is all there is?? And we don't even know the length of this time we have.
27 years old-that is not enough time in my eyes. But God's eyes are different. He has the eternal perspective. The perspective of living on forever and ever. Of having eternity without pain and struggle and the storms of life. God has put into our hearts an eternal perspective; one that allows us to look beyond the routine of this life.
But do we??
I've lost sight of that. I see friends in grief, friends struggling with many different issues, families torn apart by tragedy and the unfairness of this life.
I've watched my own family struggle with health issues.
I have friends fighting cancer that eats away at their bodies.
I have one of my summer staffers from June struggling to breathe and make his muscles move in an undetermined illness.
I know people desperate to get out of the mental anguish they are enduring-wishing to be free from the demons that plague them.
YES, there has to be more to this life.
There is the promise of living forever with the ONE who created us and the entire universe we live in.
A promise of a life free from pain, worries and tears.
Do I believe GOD in what He says? Absolutely. Because otherwise none of this life would make sense.
Do I realize tho that what I do here on earth has an impact on eternity?? That everything I do here should be done for the glory of God? Sometimes, so many things I do seems insignificant and what I think would have no eternal purpose. But what do I know about God's eternal purposes??
Not really that much. But what I do know is that whatever I do here on earth is preparing me for eternity. Preparing me to serve Christ forever. Preparing me to see those I have loved that have gone before me and preparing me to greet those that will come after me.
I truly believe that we NEED to live, we MUST live with more of an eternal perspective. Realizing that what we do day to day is important to Our Father in heaven. And that what we do should honor God each and everyday that He has given us on this planet.
O LORD GOD, Please help me to live with Your eternal Perpsective each day.

I wanna be Like JOB

Because of the course of events right now that are affecting my life and the lives of many that I know, I started reading the book of JOB in the Bible late last week.
Mind you, I am not reading fast at all. I'm trying to take in what happened to Job and how he dealt with the unfairness of his life.
If you are unfamiliar with this little book, in the first chapter, satan, the enemy of God tells him that he has been roaming the earth. Then GOD asks satan if he has considered his servant Job.
I read thru the Bible every year-so I know I've read this before, but I was astounded that God is the ONE who pointed out Job to His enemy. Then he lets satan loose to wreck complete havoc on Job's life. In a matter of hours, Job loses almost everything. He loses his livestock, his plants and worst of all, he loses all ten of His children.
I can't even fathom this type of LOSS.
And what does my new hero Job do?? After tearing his clothes and putting on sackcloth, he worships the Lord.
WOW. AMAZING.
And that is just what the Parson and May families did too, when they lost dear Katie.
That's what I would hope I could do...but could I?
Then satan returns to the presence of the LORD and GOD again asks him to consider his servant Job.
Satan responds that Job hasn't forsaken God because his life wasn't touched. His own physical being. What i forgot to mention above is that in God's first conversation about Job with satan, he tells satan that he just can't touch Job's life.
This time, God tells satan he can't take Job's life.
So what does that enemy do?? He infects Job with boils, and burns and blisters that ache, and ooze and are extremely painful.
Job's faithful little wife says to her husband (probably in her deepest grief) "Curse God and die".
I have to admit, I probably might do this too, if I had suffered her losses.
But Job just calls her a foolish woman and says "Can we accept only good from God? and not the evil things? and again he says" Blessed (or Praise) be the name of the Lord".
Again....probably NOT my first response. But oh how I wish it would be.
So as I look at the suffering and the losses that are occuring this very week:
the Parsons and May families grieving the loss of precious Katie,
my sweet friend Amy, watching her father die and hoping that his suffering will end today,
to the Gray family in Arizona, fighting to live, Praying and pleading with Our Father, to heal Troy-to allow Kelly and their kids to enjoy a long life with him,
for Jamie Lisea's family, who are trying to do what is best for her sweet dad Bob,
and for my dear dear Hoch family, who have no idea what the future holds, but who most definitely know WHO holds the future; I hope and pray, all of us suffering and grieving with our friends, that we too, will be like Job, and praise and worship the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.
Because HE is in control. HE does see what is happening, HIS heart is breaking and aching along with all of us. And that for us to remember, that all of this suffering, pain and loss, was NEVER a Part of HIS plan. HE envisioned this all so differently. And that is what eternity will be like for us.
Again, I am looking forward to eternity.