He rose—and there were many eyewitnesses!

Often it’s easy to get caught up in this life. We are so distracted by our calendars, the news, meeting our basic needs, social media, and even following popstar romances with the hometown hero.

Many years ago, I gave my life to Jesus. And when I say that, I don’t mean just that I mentally decided he was my Lord and Savior, but that He was who would rule my life physically. How I live my life, the profession I choose, the things I do would all depend upon what I felt Him calling me to do.

This is ultimately how I ended up doing the hardest job I’ve ever done… homeschool my kids. You may read that and think being a rocket scientist or brain surgeon is more difficult, but I’d like to respectfully disagree with you. In those professions, you get time to think, time to talk to other adults, and time for yourself. As a homeschooling mom, the only time I had to myself was when I was in bed sleeping. (As most moms know, even going to the bathroom is not sacred self-time. Kids have an innate ability to know when a mom disappears and then they immediately need something that cannot wait even a second to be resolved. They must speak to you right now.) And looking back, I would not change one difficult moment I was able to spend with my children for anything in the world. But alas, I digress.

Living our lives in the here and now is important but it’s easy to forget what comes next. Jesus rose from the dead. We must be present with the people in front of us but also remember Jesus came back to life. We must remember this especially on days when we wonder if this world can be any more hopeless. Earthquakes in Afghanistan, wars in Ukraine & Israel/Palestine, civil unrest in the Congo, mass shootings in the US, fires in Maui, cyclones in Malawi, global pandemics, cholera in Haiti, and the list goes on and on. I work in our global ministry often responding on behalf of our generous congregation to these many crises, and sometimes I forget that this earth & these problems are all temporary. I forget that for a few short years (100 if I’m lucky) God is calling us to share His light and love on this earth. That for maybe 36,500 days we are called to give others hope when they feel hopeless. If we’re lucky, for 876,000 hours we are called to be a friend to someone who is hurting. And hopefully, for 52,560,000 minutes, we need to listen for understanding instead of talking to convince someone we are right. That’s it. After that, we get to bask in God’s glory, sing hallelujah, and live in immeasurable love, peace, and joy as we spend eternity together in a place more beautiful and majestic than we can even begin to imagine.

How many days, hours, minutes do you have left to do whatever it is God is calling you to do before He calls you home and says, “Well done, good and faithful servant”? This life and all of its troubles may seem long, but just like homeschooling, it will pass by in the blink of an eye. One day, you will look back and think it was worth every difficult moment.