Friday, August 11, 2006

A Piece of Me: Aged 23

Now listen, you who say,
"Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city,
spend a year there, carry on business and make money."
Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.
What is your life?
You are a mist that appears for a little while
and then vanishes.
Instead, you ought to say,
"If it is the Lord's will,
we will live and do this or that."
As it is, you boast and brag.
All such boasting is evil.
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do
and doesn't do it, sins.
James 4:13-17
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No one is guaranteed tomorrow. It is arrogant of me to say that tomorrow I will do this or that or go here or there. No one knows what tomorrow will bring.

What is my life?

It is a vapor, a mist, a fleeting mark on humanity. My life is another birth certificate in a massive filing cabinet among thousands, millions and billions of people who have walked Earth. The rich. The poor. The famous. The outcast. Me.

In my self-centered arrogance I plan my schedule. I plan events for tomorrow, next week, the month and new years. Is it wrong to plan things for the future? Of course not- that was not the point James was presenting when he wrote the above encouragement. Instead of planning my life as if everything is certain, I must constantly redirect my focus to God and His sovereign plan.

Tomorrow might not exist for me.

And today, well, is my twenty-third birthday.

The years pass so quickly. They are gone before you realize it. Before you realize that you should have loved more, cared more, spent more, traveled more, spent less, been angry less, cleaned less. Laughed more with the people you love. Taken the time to watch sunsets. Worshipped God more. Served God more.

Sacrificed more for the gospel.

Life IS a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow. Yet, I have been given God's grace. Grace that compels me to share that grace with a world lost in hopelessness. There is no purpose for my life other than that. So this next year is going to be more focused on my passion for making God known to all people. I am tired of sitting back and doing nothing, or not enough, or too little. I am scared to death and more alive than ever at the same time!

Happy Birthday to me! Thank You, God, for every breath and each new day. May I make You known to all peoples, near and far. May I have more of You. At the end of the day, that is all I want, more, more, MORE of Jesus.

For You ARE life.

10 comments:

Kathie said...

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Jaclyn.
Happy Birthday to you!!!

I praise God for bringing you into this world 23 years ago because that day my Dawn's best friend was born :)

Anonymous said...

Yes, many birthday prayers for you! May this year be the best ever for you!

Dawn said...

Ok...my mom's comment made me instantly teary.

I agree 100% with her. Check my blog for your birthday wish!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday Jaclyn!
I am so glad God made you!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday, Jaclyn!!

May God bless you richly in Him and continue to make you a sweet savor for His name!

Trin said...

Happy Birthday Jaclyn!

Galant said...

Happy Birthday Jaclyn! Truly, I hpe you have a wonderful God-filled year, guided through each day by the Holy Spirit and with the Creator revealing Himself to you through every situation and every new dawn.

May you grow in love and courage every single day.

G.

Anonymous said...

Well, I left a little happy birthday note for you yesterday, or so I thought, and apparently it wasn't posted. So I will now write a little happy day-after-your-birthday note :)

I pray that you will be blessed beyond measure as you fall more and more in love with Him every day in this new year. We both know how drastically things can change from one day to the next, so it will be exciting to see how God will work in the upcoming 365 days of your sweet life. I love you!

Jaclyn said...

Thank you ALL for your kind birthday wishes! I had a wonderful birthday and will post pictures sometime soon... altough that is what I said about our trip to Chicago. I really, really will try to do a huge picture post soon!

I am grateful for all of you and the roles that you have in my life. Whether I have met you or not, God has used you to draw me closer to Him.

Oh, even with all Her imperfections, I love the Body of Christ!

Much love and many blessings!

Jaclyn said...

OH- GALANT! My brother, Ben, and my mom bought me Settlers of Catan for my birthday!!!!!!