Everyday Stuff… Life, Death, and Everything in Between!

Psalm 139:15-16 My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.

For most of us, we see our days only after the living of them, in hindsight. For a few of the more evolved in the sanctification of their days, they see their days as they are living them. For a rare few, there is the gift of future, prophetic sight (which I don’t wish for as I think it would scare the living daylight out of me!)

Though I do wish to be more PRESENT in the days of my life. I am in the “After All is Said and Done” view of my personal “Everyday Stuff”. In other words I wait for the recap, analysis, and my promise to do better next time. The problem with this form of living is that LIFE DOESN’T STOP and wait for a better lifestyle.

Life doesn’t stop!! And guess what… we are not in control of who, when, where, what, why, and how.

Until our last breath (Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.  Genesis 2:7) we are along for the ride, in the vehicle God skillfully wrought… JUST FOR YOU!… and HIM!

We spend a great deal of our time trying to figure out the meaning/purpose of our lives.

I’m learning that, God loved His vision of each one of us that He could do nothing less than satisfy His love by breathing His breath into each of us… so that (meaning/purpose) He could love us to infinity and beyond!

But what if, you don’t believe in God!? I for one am glad that your belief doesn’t create nor eliminate God. Therefore His meaning/purpose for you does not change. In fact, your birth, life, death and everything in between, is PROOF that God is, was and forever will be, whether you wish to believe it or not. What you believe about God only makes for the quality of your relationship with the “other” passenger in your vehicle.

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.  Psalm 139:7-12 

Because God honors love as the greatest of all gifts (But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. Corinthians 13:13), He also wanted it to be freely given without condition so He gave man the greatest gift of all… His own image. 

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:26-27

You can ignore the image your vehicle of life bears, but if you truly want to know your ultimate mission and purpose and all the details thus included, wouldn’t it be wise to get it from the Owner who created your vehicle and wrote in your book, all your very days, when as yet there was not one of them? He’s seen it all!!!!

We traveled to our brother’s memorial service last week. He was 77 years old. From all the pictures and details and friend’s remembrances, he lived a FULL life! He did not know the word stranger. He enjoyed good friends, good food, good wine, and good fun. The last few years, his life vehicle experienced some major traumatic issues that would challenge most of us to keep our foot on the gas rather than pull over and give up driving forever.  Al didn’t, he kept right on moving even if it wasn’t full speed ahead. He was definitely one of those that answered, “Present”, when the day called his name.

I don’t know his personal relationship with our Creator, I do believe he met Him that evening on a ship in international waters, heading to Aruba, when the final day that was ordained for Al, came to be. I also believe Al knew his Creator and I believe he was welcomed home, fulfilling God’s purpose for his life – an eternity of loving Al to infinity and beyond.

Before this week I would not have labeled any of this as “Everyday Stuff”. I would have anxiously been trying to understand all the SERIOUS details and analyzing the meaning of each and every one.  And I would have missed the Presence in each and every moment of this last week… the answer to the mission and purpose of each and every life – my own included.

Of all the times and places and events of Al’s life, the greatest of these has been God’s love for Al.

“Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.” Isaiah 49:16

If God does this for us, and we are created in His image, isn’t it only right that we love Him right back?!!

O Lord, You have searched me and known me . You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. Psalm 139:1-6 

If this is “Everyday Stuff… Life, Death and Everything in Between” to God, then let it become “Everyday Stuff… Life, Death and Everything in Between” to us!

Let us search and know God, let us know when He sits and when He stands, let us understand His thoughts from afar, let us scrutinize His path and His Sabbath rest, let us be intimately acquainted with all His ways. Let us enclose God behind and before and lay our hands upon Him.

Yes, it is too high, we cannot attain it… yet. But we can begin and grow in the life we share our vehicle with – the One who blows the breath of life in us.

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.