Food For Thought

The Saturday before Christmas this past year my dear friend and pastor, Steve Estes, went home to be with his Lord in heaven. This was a terrible shock to everyone who knew Steve, and particularly to our church family and to me.

At the visitation and funeral, people were sharing thoughts and remembrances of Pastor Steve. Here are a very few of the statements I heard shared: He was a passionate man, boisterous, had a booming voice, a faithful friend, man of prayer, man of God, "was the real deal", and many other comments. The last comment, "was the real deal", was a very powerful comment to me. This person was saying that Pastor Steve was genuine and daily lived what he preached.

This experience of losing Pastor Steve's presence with us (he is not lost, we know exactly where he is. . . in Heaven with Jesus) has caused me to wonder what people will say about me when I am gone. How will people remember me? What attributes of mine will stand out? What will be my legacy? I am reminded that I am influencing the answers to these questions today, this very day, by how I am living my life.

So who am I? I am down to earth, nothing flashy, every day "Jane on the street", simply a child of God. I make mistakes, I have faults just like everybody else, but . . . I am redeemed by my Savior, loved by the God of the universe, and a child of the King. I am striving, like Pastor Steve succeeded in doing, to be the "real deal". With all of this in mind, I have great a responsibility to walk humbly with my God, allowing Him to work out His purpose and plan in my life. I am consciously seeking His wisdom and direction, making every effort to love as Jesus does and to allow things that break God's heart to break mine also, to have the heart and mind of God.

When it is all said and done, my heart's desire when God calls me home is to have people simply remember me as a woman after God's own heart.