The Gift That Keeps On Giving

The really good thing about writing a blog when you are older is that you have so much to draw from.  Here’s another one from my pool of life experiences.  As every woman knows, there are just certain housecleaning duties that have to be dealt with immediately. The day-to-day stuff that just cannot be avoided.  Dirty dishes in the sink have to be taken care of otherwise you run out of clean plates and spoons.  The spilled milk on the living room carpet probably has to be dealt with ASAP, or the smell will linger forever.  Bathrooms have to be cleaned on a regular basis or they just get so gross you can’t enter.  But then there are some housecleaning jobs that can remain on the “to do” list for a very long time.  For me, one of those duties is cleaning out the refrigerator.  I occasionally wipe down the shelves or clean up a spill, but that full scale cleaning can only be done on garbage pickup day or the day before earliest.  Why you ask?  Well, that brings me to my other confession.  I cannot bring myself to throw out leftovers.  There is just something inherently wrong with throwing out perfectly good food.  My mother’s voice (now from heaven) still echoes in my head “You know there are starving children who would love to have that food.”  So I get out my little containers and all leftovers get put safely into the refrigerator.  Wow, I didn’t realize how much confessing this blog would require, but here is another one.  I don’t really like to eat leftovers.  Yes, some of you are already ahead of me and you know what then transpires in deeper and lighter shades of disgusting green mold that eventually covers the once honored leftovers.  When my son was in high school, he would frequently bring a friend home at noon for lunch and raid the refrigerator.  I can still hear his laughter and see the twinkle in his eye as he would reach into the inner most recesses of the refrigerator and bring out a small container and as he opened the lid would declare with great gusto “There is fungus among us.” 

Almost everything has an expiration date.  Milk and eggs are clearly marked as to how long you have before they spoil.  Even fruit and vegetables tucked in the bin marked "crisper" will eventually wilt.  I once cleaned out my pantry (another job that is low on my to do list ) and found canned vegetables that were no longer good for human consumption.  Vitamins and prescriptions are all marked as to when they are no longer effective.  I have even read death notices like the one that said, "Mary expired on May 14, 1968."  Yikes!!!

I am very happy to report that I do know of at least one thing that is good forever, and that is prayer.  Prayer never expires.  God doesn’t go down through my prayer requests and get out a big red marker and say "Sorry this prayer has reached its expiration date” and mark it off His list. 

2 Peter 3:8

 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 

God is not bound by time and remembers the prayers prayed by my Great Grandma that I never met and every prayer my Grandma Treese said for me.  He remembers the prayers my mom and dad prayed over me when I was born.  He remembers every prayer anyone ever prayed on my behalf and I am blessed this very moment because of them.  Prayer transcends time and space because our God transcends time and space.   As I sit here today and pray that those of you who take the time to read what I write will be blessed, I know I am speaking eternal blessings over your life.  Prayers never go bad, wilt, lose their effectiveness, get stale, or expire.  I challenge you to give the gift that will last throughout eternity. Say a prayer today for someone that will last forever, but just remember the glory does not belong to the one who prays, but to the Almighty God of grace who never forgets and answers.