My one word.

Dear Maggie,
This post is for you my fellow blogging friend. As well as for anyone else who is kind enough to read my post. I enjoy following your journey and was challenged by the idea you shared of picking one word to define 2012. I've rolled this around in the background of my thinking for several days now. Today it was confirmed. Eternal. This is not an effort to sound spiritual or to pick a really significant word. It truly represents the reality of the year behind me and the opportunities yet to be discovered.
In October of 2011 I had a ruptured appendix. I was sick but we couldn't find the source for over two weeks. At that point the pain reached a level that I could no longer bear and we went to ER. A CT scan showed a ruptured appendix. By God's grace it had formed an abscess and all of the toxic infection had remained contained instead of poisoning my whole body. Then a week later I had an event that never has been clearly identified. They say either I had bacteria in my blood or I had a severe reaction to medication. Whatever it was I nearly died. It sounds a bit dramatic, but it is the fact of my story. The sobering reality is that life is very fragile.  Eternity has been brought right up close. With a heart of gratitude I realize I've been given a bit more time before I have to stand and answer before God for my life.I wrestle with the tension between earthly/temporal things(think decorating, clothes, sewing) and eternal things. I recognize that I do need to be a good steward of the material things that He has trusted me with. However, I am sure that He will not ask me questions about what color I decided to paint my living room. My perspective this year I hope has made a noticeable shift. I can spend so much of my life on the temporal. So much effort, money,and time on things that are gone in a flash. I find freedom to pursue my artistic passions in the thought that we are made in the image of God. He is the ultimate creator and so it makes sense why we are wired to be creative. I think of our God who cares that the lilies are clothed in beauty, and cares so much more for me. So while it is good to make my nest a beautiful safe refuge for my family,and to cloth my children in beauty,  I must keep in the front of my mind the relationship of the people in my life. I need to serve my Savior in all things. Eternal. I want every moment to count.
See Maggie's post at www.apairofpinkshoes.com