Not in Vain

The Lord has been steadily teaching me lately to see Him and His purposes in everything. When we live our lives unto the Lord, nothing is in vain. It all matters.

As believers, Jesus lives within us, so that means we carry Him wherever we go. When we look at the gospels, there was never a dull moment in Jesus' everyday life. He always ran into people who needed His touch or His word.

 We are to live that same life, that same adventure. Our christian walk was never meant to be dull. When we truly give Jesus full reign by surrendering to Him, it's an exciting ride and nothing is wasted!

Yesterday I had jury duty. You know you're a stay at home mom when you are excited about jury duty haha. Anyway, I got there and was glad to see that I knew a few people. We had to do a lot of waiting and I got to spend a couple hours with a former youth student from church. It was so nice to see him and catch up with everything going on in his life. I knew something good would come out of a day of jury duty and waiting.

Months ago, I took our youngest to the doctor thinking he had an ear infection. Our doctor is over an hour away. His ears looked fine so as I waited for the nurse to come back in, the thought crossed my mind "well, I guess this was a waste of time." The nurse came in and I caught a glimpse of her bracelet. I immediately knew it was Psalm 91 because I had just read that Psalm that morning, so I asked her about it. She told me that a friend had given it to her and that she had recently been diagnosed with cancer. So Micah and I prayed for this sweet woman in the doctors office that day. A couple of weeks ago, I took Daylen to the doctor for an earache and this same nurse came up to us to tell us thank you for praying and that all her scans are now clear!! Praise God!!

Then while on vacation this summer, our boys wanted to go to the local gift shop. It was just an ordinary gift shop and the cashier was nice but not overly talkative. We checked out and were heading out the door when the cashier said "ma'am." I turned around expecting to see that I had left something on the counter and instead saw her crying. She looked into my eyes and told me she needed prayer. I grabbed her hands and we prayed right there. She had so much going on in her life and needed some encouragement and someone to pray with her.

I'm sharing all this only to say that I used to view everyday life as just life and my happiness depended on my daily circumstances. Jesus has taught me to wake up everyday asking Him "Lord, what are we going to get into today?" He is patiently teaching me that this life is not all about me and to take my focus off of myself and observe what He desires to do all around me. Even days that seem completely ordinary can be extraordinary when we look from His perspective. It's a beautiful thing to know nothing is really a waste of time. Open my eyes Lord to see You in the midst of waiting, life's interruptions, and just ordinary everyday life. With You, it's an adventure and absolutely nothing is in vain.


"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58