Lindsay's 40th Birthday!

Lindsay on the whitewater, Summer 2004

Wow, today would have been Lindsay's 40th birthday! I often imagine what her life (with Jason) would look like these days. Even though there will always be these "what ifs," I have to remind myself that God knew exactly how many days her life would last. He didn't cause the tragedy that took her life (and Jason's), but He did know the day they would come home to Him, and they had fulfilled His plan for their lives here already. I never got to know Lindsay. I had only met her once. She was soft-spoken and kind, and it was obvious she was a faith-filled person. Her eye was on the Lord. She saw God's beauty reflected everywhere in nature. She lived to serve Him and to glorify Him with her life. How many of us can say that? She was truly remarkable! This is an excerpt from one of her journal entries:

"I greatly desire to have many crowns to give my God when I get to heaven. Nothing on earth matters in light of eternity. It is so easy to get caught up in the things of the world and forget what really matters. How amazing that we have forever to spend with Christ! The more we worship and spend our lives for Christ on earth, the better we can serve Him in heaven. I sometimes think of myself as a pilgrim in a foreign land traveling through life. We are here temporarily. I should be less materialistic and give more to God. Don't waste time!"

Those are powerful words and SO true! It is definitely easy to get caught up in the things of this world... especially with the advent of social media. People spend HOURS each day on social media. How much time do we spend with God each day? I am convinced that satan exploits social media and all of our other distractions to keep us from engaging with God entirely. How much of God's plan, guidance and blessings are we missing out on because we are so distracted? This is a message for myself as well. I do not want to waste my life and waste time obsessing over things that mean absolutely nothing in light of eternity. How about you? I think we can learn a life-changing lesson from Lindsay, from those words she wrote so many years ago. I don't know how old she was when she wrote that, but she passed away at age 22, so that is some incredible discernment and wisdom from a person who was so young. Like I said... she was truly remarkable. ♥

Happy 40th Birthday Lindsay! ♥ You will never be forgotten!