And with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (Eph 6:15) NIV
Dear Lord, thank you for your Shoes of Peace. I’ve needed them these last few days. I sent my daughter off halfway across the country with her high school band to perform in the Orange Bowl and just learned that my mom is going to die. These ups and downs of life are enough to make our stomach do flip-flops and at times, it can feel like there isn’t a seat belt that is holding us inside of the ride.
My mom has been sick with a lung disease with unknown causes for the last few years. She recently ended up in the hospital for a 65 day, unwanted stay that we weren’t sure she would come home from. She did come home, and now the news of her not staying on her Earthly home much longer saddens me. We may have her for a year—maybe less.
It’s amazing to me, though, that with every whip-lash turn we experience, we do have a constant in our lives that never dips or turns no matter how fast our ride is going. God is always the same, and He isn’t made seasick by our experiences even though He is right there next to us.
How often in our lives do we choose to buy another ticket for this Herculean-sized roller coaster instead of taking the hand of the One who can help us step out of the seat? A few years ago, I am sure that I would have handed my money over to the one who would have loved for me to ride this ride again, but I won’t give my enemy the satisfaction. My hand is reaching for God and His precious Son who won these Shoes of Peace for me and for you to wear.
The Gospel lets me know this world is defeated, that ride is temporary, and Satan will lose his job as ticket agent very soon. He can’t force us to step onto the ride; we have to be willing participants in the fear and worry that he loves to create. I know my Savior defeated death, disease, and worry when He went to the cross, and I am choosing to leave it there. Do you have a ticket in your hand or will you walk with me to the cross so together we can leave our Earthy pain and fear with Jesus? It’s time that we shut down Satan’s ride.
Much Love,
Crista