it's time i shared something

lately i've been trying to think of something to write about, since i haven't posted anything in a while. and although i have a lot of thoughts and feelings meandering around inside my brain, none of them have hashed themselves out into any form of completeness. so i'm just kinda gonna talk, not force anything, and see where it takes me.

i've been learning a lot about servanthood lately through our dog sebastian. between reading my current 6 books, trying to spend time with God, giving gentry the love and attention she deserves, i really don't have much left over to go on walks or play tug-o-war. but we got him knowing he'd be added responsibility, so i do my part. i used to rush him through walks, letting him sniff very little. even playing with him in the house for just 5 minutes takes the time and effort that i could be putting toward something else. but how selfish of me is that! he needs love and attention just like anyone else (yes he's a dog, no i'm not saying that he's as valuable or should hold the status as a human. i'm not gay). so i've been trying to be more purposeful about my time with him. when we go on walks, i give him plenty of time to sniff; when we're inside, i'll run around the house and wrestle with him.

what does all this have to do with being a servant? i'm learning that my needs are not necessarily more important than the needs of those around me. and i should not brush others off just because i don't think i have the time or energy to listen or help. yes, the tasks i have before me need to get taken care of, but not at the neglect of others. it is so easy to get caught up in my world that i become completely unaware of everyone around me.

another thing that i have been praying about is to be able to see this world as a temporary dwelling. one of my favorite passages of scripture is hebrews 11. ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God "has set eternity in the hearts of men." hebrews 11 illustrates what exactly this looks like when we realize this "eternity" and faithfully desire the Lord. there's a brief interruption in the discourse of hebrews where the writer states,

"all these people were still living by faith when they died. they did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. and they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. people who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. if they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had the opportunity to return. instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (13-16)