I joined a social networking site, kicking and screaming all the way.
Okay, perhaps not that extreme, but I dragged my feet for months while others urged me to join their cyber world. I doubted I could spare another minute. Plus, I had enough security questions to keep a help desk tied up for weeks.
International university students we informally adopted finally wore me down. I have to admit I love reconnecting with family, friends, and former students. A cousin whose family visited us every summer when we were children chose a flower bloom for her profile picture. I asked if she recalled the hours we spent picking flowers and blackberries. She added her memories of catching tadpoles in puddles.
Our selective memories temporarily deleted thorns on the berry vines, snakes in the weeds and water, and some of history’s worst cases of poison ivy. Nor did we mention family illnesses, disappointments, and death.
The inevitable difficulties of life surround us. They always have and always will in this world. Yet God promises better days ahead for those who follow Him.
In God’s new creation, time won’t matter. Concerns about schedules and whether we can squeeze in another activity will disappear. We will rest securely in the care of our all-knowing God. Issues of privacy will become irrelevant, as God will abolish all threats. Everyone in heaven will be our friend and on the same page with the same purpose. The fallout from differences of opinion—gone. Uncertainty if we measure up—gone. Attempts at one-upmanship—gone. Worries over what’s mine and what’s theirs—gone. Ethnic, racial, and other social differences—banished forever.
No thorns, no briers, no weeds, and no poison ivy. None of this life’s irritations will raise their ugly heads again. We will walk in perpetual peace with God and will have no concerns about what lies ahead or what has happened in the past. We will never face another virus, medical or virtual. Illnesses, disappointments, and death will never again mar the landscape of our lives.
We may not know the when and how of God’s new creation, but that’s okay. God does. Dare to rest in the assurance of God’s eternal promises.
(Photo courtesy of Martin Wiles.)
(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)
Diana Derringer is author of Beyond Bethlehem and Calvary: 12 Dramas for Christmas, Easter, and More! She writes for several publications and enjoys traveling with her husband and serving as a friendship family to international university students. She offers life lessons from English expressions at dianaderringer.com.