Still Here

My grandma is 98 years old and oftentimes, people are amazed not only at her age but at how good of a condition she is in.  At the end of May, we were at her church picnic with her and as different people came over to say hi and ask her how she was doing, she answered with one of her typical responses.  As she was asked this question, she responded with, “well, I’m still here.”  No matter what age we are, I think we should have this mindset.  No day is guaranteed and every day that we are here is a gift. ​

Sunday afternoon, I was driving to my grandma’s house to pick her up so that we could head up north for the week.  The unincorporated town she lives in has a sign at the side of the road as you enter the town.  It says , “Welcome to Tisch Mills.  No mayor-no city council. Life is good!”  I’ve seen this sign hundreds of times over the years.  But this time as I passed it, it really stood out to me. Not the part about the mayor or city council, but the last line.  Life IS good.  And it is good because God is good and we are blessed. 

Every day we are given is truly a gift.  Every day is an opportunity to try to glorify God, to love and serve others like Christ and to grow deeper in our relationship with Him.  In our interactions with family members, friends, coworkers, and strangers, we will fall short. This is also the case in our relationship with God.  But, we must use each moment God gives us to lean on Him and ask Him to work in and through us.

Life is good.  We are loved deeply by God and many people around us and we have so many blessings in our lives. And because of this, it is good that we are here, with another day set before us. Another chance to know, love, and serve Him.

Every day, may we all wake up and think to ourselves, “I’m still here, praise God for that!”