Front Porch Rocking Chairs

                Ever since I was in college, I have had this dream about owning a house with rocking chairs on the front porch. Now that I have started a family, I often thing that what is missing is that nice suburban home in a place that has four different seasons. I think about how I would love to have a fireplace to light during Christmas time when there is snow on the ground outside. I want to have a big back yard and a large kitchen so that I can bake as much as I want. I would also like to live in a place where I can go running when my husband gets home and feel safe doing so. Although the Lord has provided a wonderful family for me at this point in life, my idea of what my life should look like and what it actually is are two separate things.

                In the second half of Romans 1, there is a passage that always strikes me hard. It explains that man knew God but chose not to be grateful to Him or show him glory, but instead wondered into a sinful lifestyle. Man thought he was being wise but was really being foolish and began to follow idles. The final verse in this passage sums up the situation by saying, “Therefore God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts…They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served something created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.”

                After reading this today I began to remember my dream of what my life should look like. This dream is something that I created for myself and it is something my heart craves. Do my actions show me serving this created dream rather than God? Am I taking steps in my life to pursue God and His plan for my life or to pursue my plan for my life? Am I happy with the life God has given me and the circumstances He has placed me in, or am I waiting to be happy until I achieve my dream?

                Dear God, help me to be happy with the things You have provided for me. Help me to pursue You rather than pursue my own created dreams. I want to give You the glory and gratitude that You deserve, with my words and my actions. Help me to accomplish Your work today. Amen.