On the night of April 16th, my team had an all night prayer vigil. From 9:30pm – 9:30am, we each took a 2 hour shift, spending some alone time with God. We had different prayer stations set up, one of which was a meditation station. My amazing and beautiful teammate, Kaycie (who I love to absolute pieces), came up with this station.
The meditation prayer she had us listen to is called “Vapor (A Meditation)” by the Liturgists, followed by the song “Vapor” also by the Liturgists. If you haven’t listened to this meditation prayer before, it’s a must. It’s well worth 9 minutes and 14 seconds of your time. Trust me! It’s pretty powerful and put’s things into terrific perspective.
I won’t get into word for word of everything that is said, it would take too long, but I’ll post the link here and let you listen for yourself.
http://www.theliturgists.com/vapor/
As I listened to this meditation, “Vapor”, it made me think about what REALLY matters in life. Is it ruthlessly searching for the job with the highest paycheck, finding those perfect pair of designer jeans, having to have the latest Apple product, or vying for acceptance from people who don’t really matter in our lives? I’ve fallen hardcore into each of these categories before and it is something that I continually struggle with. Endlessly searching for things that don’t matter. THINGS. That’s all they are. Meaningless things. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the status quo and hustle and bustle of every day life. But, as I was listening to “Vapor”, that’s when I paused and asked myself that question again – what REALLY matters in life? It’s none of these meaningless things. What really matters is love. Love is the only thing that matters in this life. At least in my opinion.
Twenty years down the road, are you going to remember those “must have” shoes, or that “to die for” dress? I’m willing to bet the newest iPhone is long gone and at least 10 new models have come and gone since. Are we going to remember those people who we foolishly tried to impress? It’s easy to sit here and type this, but it’s whole another thing to practice what you preach. I’m talking to myself here, although, I’m sure some of y’all reading this can relate. But, as I said earlier, it’s a continual battle. It’s so easy to be influenced by our society, attempting to keep up with the latest styles and trends. And it’s even easier to please our fleshly desires. Wanting these things that bring us instant gratification.
Love is so much more than any material thing we could ever have during our lifetime. Love is a feeling. It’s an emotion. It’s a touch, a word or an action. It’s the most rewarding investment. It’s genuine and effortless. It’s an experience. It’s full of lasting memories.
What better example of love do we have in our lives than God sending his only son into the world to save us from our sins by dying on the cross for us. I can’t think of a better one! God loves us so perfectly and effortlessly. His love for us is humble and merciful, compassionate and forgiving, and so many more things. God’s example of love for us is the kind of love that I want to live out in my life. I can only hope that during my short time here on earth, I’m able to show this kind of love to the people around me. Especially to my family and close friends – those that I call “family” and have “family” dinners with. (Shout out to y’all!)
After all, our time here on earth is such a precious gift. And “we only get it for as long as we get it.” Each and every moment is a precious one. Cherish them. Make the most of every single moment. The things – they don’t matter. They break. They go out of style. But, not love. Love is always and will always be in style. So, let’s not waste our time worrying about all the silly things in life. Rather, let’s spend our time loving the people in our lives. The people hat God has placed in our lives or given to us for a purpose. Let’s spend our time building up these relationships. Let’s cherish every single moment that we get to spend with the people we love. Let’s love them deeply, wholeheartedly, and endlessly.
Something I have to continually remind myself, is to keep my heart set, not on the earthly material things, but on the people around me. The people walking with me, doing life with me and sharing these precious earthly moments with me. I think so often, we take for granted the amazing and unique gift of life that God has so graciously given to us. We forget to thank Him for it and for creating us in His image and likeness.
Everything in the world is finite. Including our time on it. God is the only infinite thing in our lives. We need to fully open our hearts to both the gift and the giver of life. Let’s take the gift of love that God gave us and use it to its full potential, while we can. How often do we tell the people that truly matter in our lives that we love them? Chances are probably not enough.
So, I challenge everyone who reads my blog to do just that. Tell your family and your friends, everyone who matters to you in your life that you love them. Take just 10 minutes of your time today and send a text, a message or an email, make a phone call or tell them in person. Whatever it takes for you to say, “I love you.” After all, its the only thing in life that matters.
