I had someone recently ask me why I used the tag line, “Why are we breathing today?” on my blog header. My first response was that it ties into the mystery that inspired the main title, “Life Is So Curious…” Why are we here? How does it all work? I also realized that it’s two-fold; I want people to wonder why and how they were created which could then make them dig a bit and find hope in a Creator, but I also want to encourage other believers with the reminder that God has us still here on Earth for a specific reason. How is He using you? How is He stretching or pruning you? How is He helping and loving others through you? And like I mentioned in my last post, are we using our time here wisely?

I don’t imagine He creates us and then forgets about us for chunks of time (although it does feel like that to me sometimes…). We’re not like the plants on the back porch that we keep forgetting to water. He’s purposeful and all-knowing. He is not constrained by time and space. He knows you.

I often forget and need this reminder to keep me going and to approach life with my head up. Do you? I hope you know that you are loved and valued, whether you feel like it or not; whether you sense it from others or not. I know how scary life can feel. It’s encouraging to me to think about life in a different way and to consider that I’m here today to do something specific. It may be to simply speak kind or patient words to someone I talk to during my day, to look my son in the eyes to tell him how much I love being his mommy, or quite frankly, it may be a day for me to cling to Him every other minute because I feel awful or frightened. I don’t like to think that there’s any good in lousy times like that, but by asking Him, “what do you want me to do in this?” or “how can I glorify You today?”, I can seek purpose. It may feel like you have to drag yourself through the day or force the prayer out of your mouth, but I want to hope that He is proud of us when we try. Here’s a quote I love by an author named Angela Thomas: “I am going forward even when I cannot see. My worries are becoming trampled under the feet of my obedience. I sense the pleasure God takes in this offering.”

I just recently completed a bible study series by Matt Chandler with my 8th grade students and something that stuck with me was his reminder that, “God knows it’s scary to be us.” I’m so glad to hear that. Sometimes I tell Him that it’s scary down here and that I wish Jesus would come back already. But all in good time, I guess. In the meantime, I will keep at this life, not simply because I don’t have any other choice, but because I want to make the best of this time while remembering that this is not all there is.