Fall is my favorite season of the year but lately it seems to also come with much sorrow. Especially on this week of Thanksgiving- it has been a reminder to be thankful for the beauty and brevity of life and to respect and be thankful for what little time we do have. Exactly one year ago is when I heard the news that Paul had passed away after being hit by a car, surviving on life support a few weeks. He was the 21-year old brother of my high-school friend, and a friend of my younger sister. At his funeral service the pastor really reminded me that in the ocean of eternity, both 21 years and 100 years are but a tiny drop. This was also around the time that the song “If I Die Young” by the Band Perry had come out and the lyrics “I’ve had just enough time… what I’ve never did is done” really resonated with me. When our time is over and our life ends, we will never have another chance to do those things we haven’t but at the same time we have each had ‘just enough time’. It is a call to appreciate the short time that we do have and to use it to do the things that bring us joy in serving God whole-heartedly.
We read today in Ecclesiastes 11:9 for intern Bible study, “Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.” God has designed us each uniquely to find joy and excitement in different things- and He gives us the freedom to follow those desires of our heart. However, we are also reminded to still keep his commands because we will all be brought to judgment before the Lord for how we have lived. He is not out to ‘get us’ or ‘make our life miserable’. On the contrary He wants us to find joy in the desires of our hearts, but as the designer of our hearts he also has equipped us and taught us the best way to seek and fulfill those desires and given us a guide through the commandments and the Holy Spirit.
Today I was reminded again of brevity of life as we gathered around as an office for an update on one of the founders and CEOs of Engineering Ministries International (EMI). He found out a few weeks ago that the cancer he had that was in remission had come back and was spreading through his vital organs. All of the EMI offices across the world have been in a period of fasting and prayer for him and his family, but as we gathered today we heard that he has had a stroke- which can be a sign that the cancer has spread to the brain. He is with his family and they have had a hospice care attendant come into the home. The whole situation has been really hard as we reflect on what an amazing man Jim is- his life of obedience to the Lord in starting and growing Engineering Ministries International. An organization which now has offices all over the world; serving and bringing hope through engineering and architectural design to people of every tribe, nation and tongue. An organization which has allowed design professionals to use their God-given gifts to serve both God and the least of these. He has truly glorified God with his life- and in his suffering has continued to glorify God. While he can’t talk- his family has been praying over him and reading him scripture as well as Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven at Jim’s request.
Although I have only known Jim for a short time, I can’t help but feel so grateful and thankful for the way he has lived his life out in faith and obedience. Today in our office devotions this verse was shared from Psalm 100:4-5,
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
In this season of Thanksgiving in our country, I find peace and can give thanks knowing that whenever Jim’s final day is he will enter into heaven and into God’s courts with thanksgiving, praising His name for eternity in a restored body. Thanks for the gift of Jesus’ death that that is even a possibility. And for the days Jim still has on this earth with us- please keep him in your prayers, that he would have peace, joy, and continue to glorify God with his life.
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