A moment in time...

Doing genealogy research begins to put your life in perspective a little bit. Here are some of the thoughts I have been having lately. As I do research, I realize people are born , they grow up, they marry , they have families and eventually they die. Those that have went before us lived lives very different from ours. Most of them lived very hard lives filled with lots of pain and sorrow. Women married young and had lots of babies and many of those babies died young with diseases we don't have to worry about today. Men worked long, hard hours just to provide food and shelter for their families. Many of their wives died young , probably in childbirth.

Then, many of them went through the Civil War which I think was the worst thing that could have happened to this country because it pitted brother against brother, family member against family member. I read in some of my research that after the war was over and men and fathers and sons returned home after fighting against one another, that the only way they could deal with it was by never mentioning it again. I pray we learn something from that too. Some things cannot be fixed and some hurts only God can heal and the more we talk about them and rehash them , the more bitter we get over those same hurts. Sometimes, we too must go on, leave those wounding and hurts in God's hands and never mention them again. It's not denial, it's just trusting God to help you go on and put those things behind so you don't get bogged down in bitterness.

Here's the other thought that has plagued me all week. I see myself as living in a moment of time. God has seen fit to place me in this moment of time in history. Many have went before me and there will be many that will follow after me. But the question is, what will I do in this moment of time that I have been placed in? Will I make a difference in the world that I live in? Even to my immediate family? Will I have been one that stands up in this generation and declares there is one true God and I will serve Him all my life no matter what? Will I boldly declare His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven? Will I declare His Word even when it is not popular and no one wants to hear it? Will I be one who looks up and outward instead of always focusing on myself and my own wants, desires , needs and goals as this society we live in today encourages? Will I let my heart be moved with compassion for those God has placed me among in this life? I don't want to live life never having made a difference in someone else's life, whether that be my kids, or my grand-kids or just someone I brush by as I pass through in this moment of time. I want to be God-centered, not self-centered.

Because some day I too will pass from the scene and it will be the next generations turn to stand and hopefully make a difference in this world. And hopefully, they too will serve the God that I also chose to serve. You may be the first person in your family line that stood up and declared "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." And because of that, a Godly lineage will have been born in your family history. All because you made a difference in this "moment of time" we call today. So my prayer for you is to wake up , don't waste this day, seek God and ask Him to light a fire within you to know Him and to give you a burning desire to see His Kingdom come , His will be done in the world you live in. In this moment of time. called today! If He lights the fire, you'll never be the same!!