Becky Spell
It’s forever folks! This lifetime is but a mist, mere seconds in the spectrum of eternity. I don’t know about you, but heaven is where I wanna’ go. Maybe not today as Kenny Chesney sings, but what if today is our day to leave this world. Where will we spend our forever and ever? Our only guarantee of life eternal with our Father God is accepting Him here; we have the free will to make the choice to know and love him personally and leave footprints of faith in the sands where we have walked.
Spending time at the beach is one of my greatest blessings. I don’t take one minute of it for granted. Today as I walked Harley, God spoke to my heart about the sands of our nation and how we are sinking in sin. I pictured the West Coast where mountains tower over the sandy beaches. Our family visited California in the early 90s just after an earthquake rocked Los Angeles and mudslides destroyed homes and darkened the Pacific for miles. We rented a little red car that took us to sites I will never forget. We found ourselves in the middle of rush hour traffic on a freeway where parts of it were roped off and dangled in mid air from earthquake damage. Surely, we looked like the Carolina Hillbillies come to California, but we persevered and even found the Hollywood sign before our afternoon adventure ended. Such precious memories, made with those we love, are treasures we should thank God for every day as we keep on making memories until the good Lord calls us home. When I look at our pictures of that trip, I laugh, cry, and praise God that my memory is alive and well.
My home is saturated with pictures, my photo albums are stuffed, stacks of precious pictures are waiting to be sorted and stored, and all of them shout stories of our lives while speaking silent reminders of the love that binds us as a family. Take time to preserve moments that live forever in your heart. Surely, there will be no need for picture albums in heaven, no looking back and longing for times when the kids were little, special birthdays, weddings and celebrations that brought family and friends together, or times when the circle was unbroken. Nope, not in heaven. For we will touch eternity in fast forward, never rewinding to the past. When we cross over to that heavenly shore, we will live Kodak moments forevermore.
The winding road along the West Coast showed signs of God’s handiwork, no different than the coastal plains where we frolic and play in the waters of the Atlantic . From sea to shining sea kept ringing in my ears as I walked today. I softly sang words that are foreign to most of our children, “Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plains. America, America, God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.”
I prayed for America with a heart filled with wonder of where we are headed. Our great nation has been blessed, a land flowing with milk and honey, a breadbasket where all people share a kindred spirit of freedom, a beacon where millions have found a home and hope in a land our forefathers founded on Christ the solid rock. We have been so blessed because our cornerstones were carved in Christian love and leadership.
What does the future hold for our great nation? Most of us speculate doom and despair as our Christian values are demoralized and downgraded daily. Silencing the Christians has become a cry that can cripple our freedom of worship and resurface persecution for those willing to witness and work for the Lord. We must press forward and let freedom ring. We must get off the fence, heat up our lukewarm living for the Lord, get out of the middle and take a stand for Christ the way Paul taught.
Those who gave their lives in order for us to enjoy the freedoms we have often taken for granted, would surely wonder how in the world America got in the mess we’re in today. God is carrying us, but do we recognize His footprints in the sand? Today, I watched my footprints linger in the sand and thought of how God is always walking with us. Many times I have been carried by my Lord who loves me so; how about you? This well loved poem was shared with Americans in a speech by Ronald Reagan, who professed His love for God as he led our country. Today, many people are walking in faith, wondering what tomorrow holds. People look to our government leaders for answers to loss of jobs, rising taxes, insurance coverage, shortages of food and fuel, deception and disconnection from God among the ranks of those we have placed in leadership positions. Leaders who publically pray and place their trust in God are becoming an endangered species, much like the eagle who represents the strength on which our nation was founded. Where are the footprints of those making decisions leading us as a nation? All people endure times of trials and suffering, all nations face tough times. It’s how we go through such times and our submission to our Father that will carry us forward and preserve our Christian heritage. God is greater than anything of this nation, of this world. He will be victorious.
“One night a man had a dream that he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonging to him, the other belonging to the Lord.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints, and that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me. The Lord replied, My precious, precious child. I love you and would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.’”
God is carrying our nation through perilous times. We, the people, ignore the signs and warnings; we continue to put Him on the backburner. No need for fancy words to sweeten the real truth that we are not honoring and serving Him, far from being the one nation under God our forefathers fought for, from sea to shining sea. He continues to bless and carry us, but how long will we see His footprints in the sand?
All other ground is sinking sand when we fail to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior. Enjoy the birthday of our great nation and pray that we might restore God as our leader and the love of our lives.
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