Milestones

I was looking at a picture that I had posted in Facebook the other day of Piper and I outside of the reception hall after our wedding.  I didn’t remember ever seeing the shot before, even though it was in the back of one of the many albums that we have containing snapshots of our special day taken by family and friends.  The more I stared at Piper and the look of complete contentment and happiness that was radiating from her beautiful face, the more I realized how this picture seemed to have perfectly captured the true and inherent essence of the sweetness* of the girl that I had fallen head over heels for! 

Our enjoyable years together seemed to flash across my mind as I got lost in the memories that the look on her stirred up in me.  After a moment or two, I began to smile and feel rather confident in the way that we chose to live our lives.  It suddenly dawned on me, that if we had followed the path that our families had wanted us to lead, that Piper would not only have been miserable but also very disappointed when she left this earth on September 2, 2018.

I remember an early conversation that I had with my father concerning my desire to go to seminary which would lead to a career in full time ministry.  To be honest, his main concern was that “ministers don’t make a lot of money!”  Years later, I had a similar conversation with my Father-in-law concerning one of my son’s desire to go into ministry, and his comment, similar to my Father’s, was centered around his idea that ministry afforded a lack of financial income.

I can look back through the years now and see various spiritual MILESTONES that changed our lives so much so, that we never went back to old ways of thinking and/or doing things.  For instance, a few days ago, I was studying in the book of 3 John where the Apostle of love is writing a heartfelt letter to his good friend Gaius back then… and to you and me today… expressing his thoughts that, “I was filled with joy and delight when the brothers arrived and informed me of your faithfulness to the truth. They told me how you live continually in the truth of Christ.  It is the greatest joy of my life to hear that my children are consistently living their lives in the ways of truth!” (The Passion Translation) 

The reality of living “continually” and “consistently” in the truth of Christ sparked a memory of how we felt when we returned back home after Bible College in Oklahoma.  Thinking back, I can clearly see how it seemed like we had entered a time-warp and had actually gone back in time!  It was pretty apparent that we had grown in our Christian maturity and understanding, while life back home, in many ways, seemed to have stayed the same! (our Pastor even commented to me about how we had changed!)

Attending Bible College and spending three years in the community of faith around the school had made such a lasting impression on us that it caused us to be able to step up and out with a new determination, understanding and a high level of faith in God and His Word, so as to be able to withstand the attacks that we faced in the ensuing battle for Piper’s life.

2 Timothy 1:9 tells us that (God) “hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,” (KJV)  God has not only saved us but also called each of us to His own special purpose and grace.  As it is confirmed throughout the New Testament, God has a unique and special calling for each and every one of us to fulfill in our lives on the earth.  The word “calling” in the original Greek means “to utter in a loud voice (ie; with clarity) or to invite by name.” (Thayer’s)

I can think back of the times that God has spoken a word of direction to me and notate that while it was not an audible voice, but the still-small-voice inside of me… that it was one that I immediately recognized as the voice of God and knew that He had a personal word for me to obey!  When people questioned me on what or why I was doing something that had been directed of the Lord, there was never a thought of doubt or hesitation on my behalf.  I had heard from HIM and people’s thoughts did nothing to distract my obedience to His calling.

As the Greek defines it, Piper and I likewise saw those spiritual MILESTONES that I mentioned above, as personal invitations from the Lord to step out from where we had been, step up to where He wanted us to go and then step in to our world with a new, emboldened and empowered sense of strength and purpose.

I don’t think that there is much of anything of our past that I would change if I had the chance.  We lived our lives as pioneers of the faith before our families, friends, co-workers, neighbors and with anyone else that came across our path.  If we had followed the desires of our families… which were most likely God’s special plan and purpose for THEIR lives… in contrast to the unique ones that God had pre-planned for us… well, let’s just say that that look on Piper’s face depicted in the photo at our wedding reception (moments after we officially became husband and wife) would have been for naught!

When I looked at that sweet expression* that the picture captured on Piper’s face, I couldn’t help but get a warm feeling of joy and satisfaction while hearing the voice of the Lord saying, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant…” (Matthew 25:21, 23 KJV)

Have you sent in your RSVP in reply to God’s personal invitation to the special and unique things that He has planned for your life?  Don’t put it off!  Jump in with both feet and hold on tight in order to experience the best and most rewarding ride of your life!

I hope that you have a fantastic weekend!

 

PS:  As I was writing this post today, I couldn’t help but remember the congregational hymn that Piper had picked for our wedding service called, “There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit” written by Doris Akers in 1965.  The first verse goes:

“There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place,

And I know that it is the Spirit of the Lord;

There are sweet expressions on each face,

And I know they feel the presence of the Lord.”

 

I truly believe that Piper’s SWEET EXPRESSION in that photo was prophetic of not only that song… but of our entire life together!

For some history of the Hymn & to hear it sung, go to: http://dianaleaghmatthews.com/sweet-sweet-spirit/#.X4H00-aSk2w