Eternity in our hearts by Mary Folkerts

 

This morning, I had a front-row seat to what happens when you're so distracted with life that you miss what's important.

I was sitting on my back deck with my coffee and devotions when suddenly there was a thunk, and a poor birdie's flight plan was abruptly aborted. Too preoccupied with her to-do list,  she assumed incorrectly that my window was clear sailing and smashed her little body headlong into it. There she sat on my deck, stunned by the sudden change of plans, still clutching to the straw in her beck. It took awhile, but she finally flew away, rerouted into cleared airspace. 

Isn't that just like us? We sail through life like busy little birds, flying here and there. Busy, oh so busy. We have important things to do; the longer the list, the more important we think we are. 

We create our flight plans and to-do lists, filling our days to distraction. And sometimes God places a pane of resistance in our path to slow our pace, allowing us to remember that all our striving will never award us the thing we are after. What our hearts desire most can not be found in running hard after material possessions, power, wealth or even good deeds. It's in the slowing down and reflection that we catch a  glimpse of the reality we were created for.

It's in the slowing down and reflection 

that we catch a  glimpse of the reality 

we were created for.

Relishing in the beauty of nature and marvelling at the miracle of life, these quiet moments awaken in us a deep longing that is hard to place. As C.S. Lewis wrote in his book "Mere Christianity," "If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world."

All the good this life has to offer is meaningless if we don't view it in light of the eternity God has placed in us. We were created to live forever, enjoying the presence of God and all His beauty, but sin and self-will interrupted that plan, and death became our reality. But through Christ's atoning sacrifice, that eternal life we inherently long for can once again be our future!  

The inexplicable awe and exhale we experience when gazing at a vivid sunset sky are the stirrings and yearnings for more than this world can offer. Something outside of ourselves, something only God can redeem. Our creatively crafted words are hollow if they don't point back to the One who can restore eternity to longing souls.  

Lord, let me not be too busy with all the good things of life to miss the echo of eternity that you have placed in my heart. Remind me that my words and my life must ultimately give others the hope of eternity!