Did you know, that as a son or daughter of God, you do not have the right to live a happy life?
We have been conditioned by this world to believe that our happiness is a right, that the greatest thing that we can strive for is a long and happy life.
The only problem is that this “right” is not written anywhere in the Bible. Nowhere does God tell us that our happiness is His goal or intention for us.
Our only purpose on this earth is to glorify God.
Thats it. No more, no less.
You have been given this day, today to learn how to rely on God more and bring glory to Him.
Nothing else.
I think that this confusion is why so many struggle with death.
Death, is seemingly totally contrary to the idea that our happiness and a long and full life is our right.
But that is not what death is.
As someone much smarter than me said: “Death can make you better or it can make you bitter!”
When your perspective of life on this side of Heaven is correct and you see your time here for what it really is, an ongoing opportunity to worship your creator through your words, actions, finances and time; to share that undeserving love that you have been given graciously with everyone who comes across your path.
While we have not been promised or guaranteed happiness in this life, we can walk in the promise of ever-sufficient grace to get through everything that we endure as God teaches us to trust in Him.
One of my favorite theological questions (thats more of a statement) goes something like this (paraphrased of course):
“Humans questioning God’s plans for our lives is the same as the clay questioning the potter’s masterful design.”
I am so thankful for the example I had in my Father-in-law, Carlos. He lived his life fully embracing this mindset, and was faithful to his creator up to the moment he joined his savior in paradise.
We don’t know why he was called home when he was, when it seemed to our human understanding, he and his family (us) were robbed of so many more years with him, but we know that God’s hand was in it and still is.
We know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that in the pain, in the sorrow, there is that peace that passes all understanding and a joy that is unexplainable.
We can not thank you enough for the prayers and support. We are so blessed to have the family support system that we do and the incredible church families, friends, and ministry partners that daily sacrifice their time and finances to support us and lift us up in prayer.
We can not express to you how grateful we are for the many expressions of condolences we received and all of the prayers. They were and are a huge blessing to us and continue to lift our spirits daily.
Our prayer for you is that you are one day blessed with the same view of this life and our hastening death that we have and has allowed us to truly live this life to the fullest, in service and worship to our creator, our savior, our Father in the lives of the children that we are so blessed to serve here in Cancún.