Wow. It is hard to believe that Christmas is less than a week away. With the business of the holidays and two back to back bouts of sickness in our family, I haven’t had much time for writing, but after some encouragement from my husband I decided it was time to get back to it.
Our family was blessed to be able to visit some of my family in Kentucky over Thanksgiving. It was nice to have a vacation, enjoy some cooler weather and beautiful trees and visit loved ones we haven’t seen in two years. God blessed the trip, even when all three kids had the flu.
Soon after we got home, and just as Olivia (the last one to get the flu) was recovered all three kids came down with a cold. Olivia had it the worst and we are now fighting to get her back onto a regular sleep schedule. We are blessed, though, and I am especially reminded this year that our daily trials are miniscule compared to those many are fighting this Christmas season.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about, but with Christmas so close and with recent events shaking our nation, I find there is one thing that rings loud in my heart today.
Life.
It is so precious. From that first cry bellowing from tiny lungs to that last, and so often unexpected breath, life is a gift.
The life that we have.
The lives entrusted to our care.
We are all on a clock, and time is ticking down. We cannot go back. We cannot recover lost moments. All we can do is live and while our vocations and daily activities are vastly different, our purpose in life is the same.
We are to live so that others can know the babe that kings bowed before, hear the voice that commanded the stormy waters and feel the touch of hands pierced by nails.
We are to live to glorify the life that was sacrificed for us.
This life is short; just a blink of an eye, and when it is over I will stand before my maker as a sinner redeemed. The King, born in a dirty stable, placed in a manger and hung on a cross, will on that day give me a new life. It will no longer matter how much money I saved on those awesome Christmas deals, or how tired I was after staying up all night with a sick baby. The days of planning and living lives with mundane chores and lofty goals will slip into a memory, or maybe just fade away all together, because in the end the only thing that matters is whether I lived for Him.
So on this Christmas, and in the coming new year, let’s turn our hearts to the King of Kings.
And in everything we do, all that we say, let us be like that bright and shinning star, leading all who see to the One who gave up everything so that we could have life everlasting.
Zinck Family Missions 