Begin with the End in Mind

About 5 years ago, I drove up to Tioga Lake by myself and slept in my car and fished from sun up to sun down. It was some kick butt fishing. On Sunday before i headed home, I got my lawn chair and set it in the water on a ledge and wrote in my journal and prayed.

I was thinking about the future. The words 'Begin with the End in Mind' came to mind. I was thinking about my legacy. What would I want to leave behind for Devon. I realized at that point that the Word of God transcends time and will live forever. I realized that if Devon has the Word of God in his heart, he will be ok, even when I am gone. That was comforting at that moment.

Shortly after this, I got a phone call from my friend, Edwin about joining Bible Study Fellowship in Menlo Park @ Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. The interesting thing about this is that they had a kids program that ran concurrent to the men's program. I asked Devon if he would like to join me in learning more about God's Word and he said ok. He also liked the thoughts of perhaps of getting a snack.

We had daily reading and studying to do, (which was a good discipline). Devon also memorized a portion of the Bible every week, which was also valuable. That year, we studied the Minor Prophets. Very long reading, (skim Ecclesiates) but we learned about how ordinary people like us who screw up constantly are met by a God that is forgiving, patient and kind. We learned about how these men and women of faith faltered, failed and yet God sustained them.

In one of Devon's early blogs, he quoted one of his favorite verses from Zechariah. 'Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord God almighty.' This is a verse that Devon has said over and over and is still saying today. Never has this verse rung so true in our lives now and into the future. We pray that this would be everyone's belief and prayer.

Yesterday, was my first day back in Half Moon Bay and I was feeling a bit glum. I felt that I have so much to do and was feeling sorry for myself. However, this morning I went for a walk to the beach and the Lord used a comment on the blog to say that he remembers me and has not forgotten about me. A friend, Cindy, who I have not spoken to in years posted yesterday about remembering that it was our Anniversary today. Cindy of all people who I have not spoken to remembers our Anniversary! Wow! The Lord used this to speak to me that even when others may not remember or understand, He does.

The neat thing about how God works is that He uses people to communicate that he hasn't forgotten about what we are going through.