Recently, I divested myself of one of my collections. About twenty years ago I chose to collect okapis because I love the animal—shy, reclusive, and still relatively unknown while being adorable and velour soft. (Yes, I got to pet an okapi years before they understood how much people traumatize the critters.) I also chose it as a collection because I knew it would grow slowly. Okapi souvenirs and trinkets are hard to find. The picture is the extent of my collection, barring the two magnets and a Christmas ornament, that I managed to acquire during that time.

For a while, they made me smile whenever I looked at them. But for the last few years, that joy has diminished. They collected dust, fell over, and were hard to clean around. And, I kept thinking, someone else—perhaps a teen or a child—would love them much more. So, I gave them away.

Keeping the magnets and the ornament are a small way to remember and honor the collection.

Growing up, I collected dolls. In my early thirties, most of them left. I still have a wooden figurine (not technically a doll, but feminine) from Germany and my aunt’s original Snow White from the late thirties. I remember my mother being quite disappointed when I ceased collecting. They had always made for a somewhat easy present for birthdays and Christmas.

Though I winnow its selection from time to time, I will likely keep collecting magnets. They take up very little space and they remind me of people I haven’t seen in a while or places I’ve been. Looking at the magnets is like a life snapshot captured on my refrigerator.

My final collection which will remain as a few choice pieces contains nativities. That was a collection that my mother and I had in common and a collection that speaks to my faith. I don’t plan on expanding it, but I won’t be getting rid of what I have either.

Some of my friends have beautiful or well-curated collections of things from Christmas decorations to paintings to china teacups and so forth. I have nothing against collecting what brings joy and beauty to a life. But I’ve also known people who long to get rid of collections and can’t bring themselves to do it because “it might be worth something someday” or “I’ve always done this and the routine of collecting has become a part of me”.

Both of those phrases, thoughts do echo in my mind whenever I get rid of something. The guilt for saying that a part of my life and memories, sometimes a substantial part of my life and memories, needs to leave my today.

When our treasured collections have a home with us, they can even testify to our appreciation of beauty.

By wisdom a house is built,
    and through understanding it is established;
 through knowledge its rooms are filled
    with rare and beautiful treasures. (Proverbs 24:3-4)

But when they cease to nourish our spirits, then we need to turn our eyes to the other treasures, the ones in heaven that never fade, that will never cease to bring us joy. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:20-21)

I wonder if unlike some of my friends, I’m just not that good at assembling a collection where all the pieces complement each other.

God, though, excels at gathering the perfect collection. In the end of days, all the pieces He has gathered, His beautiful treasure, currently the body of Christ on this fallen world will become the Holy bride of Christ, knit together with His love.

Heather Wilkinson, you are this week’s random winner of A Cup of Comfort for Mothers!

After I receive at least five random comments, the next winner will receive Love is a Verb Devotional.

Because of the 250th anniversary of the United States this coming weekend, and because many people I love are going through seasons of difficulty whether it be career, personal, spiritual, emotional or a combination thereof, I have been thinking about what it means to endure.

No matter what you think about the United States today, if you look back at the men and women who risked everything to establish the country, you see endurance. The fact that George Washington had any army to speak of after Valley Forge shows endurance and faith—faith that something better could come of all this hardship. The hunger and the cold would be worth something or why persevere? Why would men suffering deprivation and frostbite, not to mention the uncertainty of a future paycheck, stick around if they didn’t believe in the cause of freedom? For that matter, why would Washington stay with his troops when he could ride for the warm fires of Mount Vernon? They had faith that enduring embodied the hope of a greater prize.

Even before that cold winter, many of the colonial leaders knew that signing their name to the Declaration of Independence would endanger their estates and livelihood. Some of the men did lose, if not everything, substantially by taking the side of the colonies. It would’ve been easier to go along, to pay the taxes and be good little British citizens. But these men were learned. They looked at the Magna Carta and said we have worth and because of that worth, we should have the right to say how we will live.

Many of them were Christians. Those who weren’t, knew the examples of Scripture. They would have known that “endure” is one of the apostle Paul’s favorite words.

In part, because Paul endured. While all the apostles were persecuted to one degree or another, Paul, perhaps because of his heritage as part of the leading governance of the Jews, seemed to have been singled out to a greater degree. In a few passages he lists the beatings he received, the murder and execution attempts he survived, and then all the natural disasters he encountered with their own pains. He endured much.

But like the U.S. founding fathers much later, Paul had his eyes on something other than his endurance. He called on Timothy to endure. “But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”  2 Timothy 4:5, NIV He reminded the Corinthian church not to succumb to temptation, but to persevere, looking toward Jesus. “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 And later he told them about an incident that he and his fellow missionaries barely survived. “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” 2 Corinthians 1:8b-9

Finally, in that last verse, we get the clue to Paul’s enduring. But he told his fledgling church that when all hope appears to be gone, you endure because God gives you the strength. You endure because God lights your way.

Enduring is rarely pleasant. It is life that simply takes the next step. It opens its eyes, looks to God, and begs for guidance and mercy.

In the early days of the Revolutionary War, there was a lot of life like that. But, and this is key, there were enough praying Christians to uphold those who were enduring. There were enough who looked to God and to providence and begged for guidance and mercy.

Today, I pray for all my friends and family who endure in this moment. May God guide them and be merciful to them. But I also praise God for His intervention in the history of mankind and how He walks with those who endure.

When I have five or more comments, the next winner will receive a copy of the Cup of Comfort Devotional for Mothers.

Before the blog’s actual offerings, I’d like to remind readers that subscribers who comment on the website during the summer have chances to win weekly small prizes. Each comment also earns a chance towards an end-of-the-summer gift card plus larger prize.

Since Diana was the only one who commented this week, she gets a copy of His Forever: Stories of Real People Finding Jesus.

That said, going forward I will wait until there are a minimum of five comments before selecting a winner. Hopefully, that can still be once a week!

Now… onto the blog!

I do not relax well.

Biblically speaking, resting and relaxing are about creating intentional space in life. Even if it looks like I’m doing nothing, my brain speeds from one scenario or obligation to another. The way I’ve mentally pre-played or replayed life events, I think I’ve gone through life five or six times minimum. But the anticipatory imagination and the post-event would-a, could-a’s don’t do my mind or body any good. Those mental exercises, don’t profit in the eternal or even earthly scheme of things. As Jesus said, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:27, NIV)

It’s not something I do well, but I’m trying. I know I need to relax in my days so I can rest in my nights. Without the balance, adrenaline wakes me up at 1 AM and then I can’t survive the next day without a nap.

But how do I become intentional about relaxation?

My smart watch does think there’s one time that I relax really well. Oddly enough, my mind says that I’m not relaxing, but the sleep app on my watch says that whenever I do my morning Bible study that I’m asleep. With God’s word on my lap, my heartrate slows, dropping my pulse and breathing until the sensors read that stillness as sleep.

That is true relaxation, true peace.

And that’s what I should seek whenever I feel stressed. Not my videogames. Not mindless scrolling through my YouTube channels. Not even the latest novel that’s captured my interest.

Knowing all this, did I meditate on God’s word today until the peace calmed my spirit?

No.

Did I read the Bible this morning? Yes. But knowing that I needed to get ready for work made it quick and disjointed. I remember reading about the birth of John the Baptist. I remember reading “my peace I give you, not as the world gives…” because it fits with where my thoughts are on this blog. But whatever else I read in that half hour has evaporated because I didn’t relax into the arms of God.

And my watch didn’t say I was asleep this morning either.

Fortunately, I’m equally yoked. Gary doesn’t relax well either so we halfheartedly scold each other from time to time. Instead of videogames, he does podcast stories, but it’s basically the same. We know our defaults are not true relaxation. Even a sudden cat-induced nap, pleasant as it may be, is distracted and unintentional. If you look at God’s plan, rest and relaxation are intentional and intentionally focused on Him.

Psalm 62 (among other places) reminds us that we should find our rest in God. His word and His comfort should be our escape from the world.

Hopefully, as the remainder of today plays out, Gary and I can remember that. Now that work is done and we plan to use the day’s remaining hours to celebrate the anniversary of our elopement 43 years ago, we can rest in each other and our mutual love of our Savior.