Am I looking to God?

Do we expect God to come to us with His blessings and save us? He says, “Look to Me, and be saved . . . .” The greatest difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and His blessings are what make it so difficult. Troubles almost always make us look to God, but His blessings tend to divert our attention elsewhere. The basic lesson of the Sermon on the Mount is to narrow all your interests until your mind, heart, and body are focused on Jesus Christ. “Look to Me . . ..”
Many of us have a mental picture of what a Christian should be, and looking at this image in other Christians’ lives becomes a hindrance to our focusing on God. This is not salvation—it is not simple enough. He says, in effect, “Look to Me and you are saved,” not “You will be saved someday.” We will find what we are looking for if we will concentrate on Him. We get distracted from God and irritable with Him while He continues to say to us, “Look to Me, and be saved . . . .”
Our difficulties, our trials, and our worries about tomorrow all vanish when we look to God. Wake yourself up and look to God. Build your hope on Him. No matter how many things seem to be pressing in on you, be determined to push them aside and look to Him. “Look to Me . . . .” Salvation is yours the moment you look.
Lord, unto You do I look up. How I know that “in me dwelleth no good thing”; and how marvelous is Your grace that I now find in my heart no motive save for Your glory.

Cherish

After performing my usual jump into my top bunk last night, listening to it creak for a few minutes as I adjusted myself in my "Sid the sloth" fashion, Silas and Emma started bickering about something on the bed below me. As I sorted out the problem of who is sleeping where and what blanket belongs to whom, and then heard the regular chorus of "goodnight! I love you!" from the bitty voices, I was overwhelmed with a knowledge that this is fleeting.

"Goodnight Sara! I love you." In Si's croaky little voice.
"Me too, Shawa. I love you too!" Emma's adorably peculiar "lishp".
And Miss Mature Lydia, growing up way too fast, still chiming in with her prim and sweet, "I love you Sara. Sweet dreams!"

In just a few short months this will all be over as I know it, with me officially moving into a role as a married sibling. I am so excited for that day, when I get to say "I adore you." to the love of my life as his little wife. I am thrilled and overjoyed at the prospect of going to sleep with him by my side, and waking up to the face of the one I have chosen to spend the rest of my life with.

I am cherishing the passing time and season though as well. The one full of screams and fights, giggles and long, ridiculous stories, beyond-their-age witty comebacks, and everyday difficulties. Hand holding with grubby fingers, and goodnight's and good mornings, tucking mom into bed and talking until I hear her soft snore, and then drinking my coffee with her early the next morning. Cuddling on the couch with each of my teenage siblings and sharing stories from our days. I know that not all of this is being lost, but I know after August 9th, it will also never be quite the same.

My heart is overflowing with a beautiful joy, an awareness of the goodness of this season, and an amazing thankfulness for ALL the blessings the Lord has brought into my life- my family of 26 years, as well as the one He is just newly creating. I am so happy, in so many ways.

I am very, very blessed.