This past weekend in our church bulletin was this little devo. I loved it and wanted to share.
It reminds us to:
Live simply.
Love generously.
Care
deeply.
Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to
God.
A group of
alumni, highly established in their careers, got together
to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into
complaints about
stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and
returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups-porcelain,
plastic, glass,
crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some
exquisite-telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor
said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were
taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is
normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source
of your problems and stress.
Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee.
In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides
what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup,
but you consciously went for the best cups. And then you began
eyeing each other's cups.
Now consider this: Life is the coffee;
the jobs, money and position in society are the cups.
They are just tools to hold and contain Life,
and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of
life we live.
Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup,
we fail to enjoy the
coffee God has provided us."
God brews the coffee, not the cups. Enjoy your coffee!
I try my best to live my life this way - honouring God, and being thankful for what I have. When it's all been said and done, all that really matters is whether you did your best to live for truth. But, to make God my number one priority is something I really struggle with. I find that I place value on so many earthly desires and forget that they really belong to God. And, by His mercy, He has given them to me. Now, being a new mom, I find I put more value on my family than on my God, forgetting that He has placed these people in my life as a blessing to me. And, when things are not going my way, I find I lean into my husband and loved ones more than casting my worries to God and trusting in His good and perfect will. When it's all been said and done, all my earthly treasures will mean nothing. Only what I have done and how I love will stand the test of time.
Pray with me that we can all do our best to live for truth.
- ♥ -
Sonya
