The Goal

I have a close friend whose first child went off to college this fall. When he left she called me and was sobbing. If you've been there, like I have, you know how hard it is when one of your children leaves home. It's the end of an era. If you haven't been there, brace yourself. It's not that you're sad about where they are in their lives or that they are going to college, but it marks the end of childhood.

As she was crying on the phone to me she said, "When he was a cute little baby I never imagined this day would come so quickly or that it would be so hard to see him go." I told her that we have to remember the goal. The goal from the day our children are born is independence. We teach them to eat by themselves, to walk without assistance, then to drive, to take responsibility along the way, to make wise decisions, etc. Every little step has been toward compete independence when they would care for themselves and fly from our nest. The goal has always been independence.

As I was telling my friend this she stopped and said, "Oh my gosh, I forgot the goal!" She and I have laughed about that since then and talked about how easy it is to forget the goal. It's easy to think that these cute little babies are somehow for our pleasure and for us to enjoy and show off. We forget that we've only been given these precious souls for a time and then we send them into the world to make their own mark and find their own place in the world.

I've joined a group of women in memorizing Scripture and this is the verse we started memorizing a week ago:

"Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world." 1 John 2:15-17

As I started memorizing those verses my heart began to ache as I realized that I so quickly start to crave what I see. I somehow begin to think that God owes me certain things and certain comforts. It's easy be proud of what I've done or what I have. It takes a lot of work not to veer towards being worldly. As I thought about that and looked at the state of my own heart I had to say to myself, "I have forgotten the goal!" How easy it is to forget the real goal and start to live for less than worthy goals.

So I sat down to remind myself of the goals for my life:

To glorify Christ in all that I do and say and even think

To never depend on my own understanding or wisdom but to completely trust God

To surrender every area of my life and let God have His way

To love Him, really love Him, and to love the people in my life like I have been loved by my Savior

To seek Him and all that is important to Him and to let the rest go

To be content with whatever He has provided for me and whatever He has allowed in my life, good or difficult.

It takes a lot of work to keep the goal in focus, to live for and be motivated by the right goal. God didn't give me precious children for my own pleasure and fulfillment, and He didn't put me on this earth to accumulate a lot of stuff and applause. I've got to keep my eye on the right goal!!