The time is now...

We sang this song in church the first Sunday after our return from Africa...

My heart was ready to burst...

My heart was full of total thankfulness to God for the utter fact that when I reach my heavenly home, I WILL SEE HIM FACE TO FACE...

And then I will see my Samuel face to face...

And then I will see....



Immediately the tears came to my eyes... who will I see?

 Will I see Daniel no longer longing to get off the streets?  Will I see Lawrence without his sweet little drooping eye then fully healed?  Will I see Akampa who stole my heart?  Will I see Hildie as we swing and sing in Heaven?  Will I see Ruth with her mischievous grin?  Will I see Josiah with those HUGE beautiful eyes?  Will I see precious Michael previously so badly scarred... but then in a perfectly healed body?  Will I see sweet, so sorrowful, so recently abandoned Robina...  but now healed from the trauma she experienced in this earthly life??

The precious faces were flashing through my mind... one after the other... sweet souls that my heart loves... Sweet souls that I want to see for all eternity...  

What a burden on my heart... pure joy and thankfulness to God for His faithfulness and redeeming power to die so that I will fully live... But yet a real burden... knowing I don't know...

The time in NOW friends... not a one of us is guaranteed tomorrow... heck, we aren't even guaranteed this afternoon.... there isn't time to waste... Our lives or our loved ones lives or our neighbors lives can change in an instant... We have lived that...

The time is now to forgive those that maybe you have bitterly held things against... The time is now to step outside our comfort zone and get dirty in the work of our Father's kingdom... The time is now to reach out and lovingly get to know our neighbors... The time is now to look beyond ourselves and invest in the lives of others... The time is now to love love love... (I am speaking to myself here just the same)  The time is now to be the hands and feet of Jesus right here in our backyard and beyond...

I pray that the seeds we planted while in Uganda will be nurtured in the lives of these little ones.  I pray that the Lord sends the perfect little helpers and people to love, nurture, and give these precious ones guidance as they grow in their faith... I pray that all those prayers uttered as I cuddled, prayed, and sang will come to fruition in time...

That is my most fervent prayer that one day... I will see... I will see them all... That when I reach my heavenly home my eyes will meet all of the precious Ugandan eyes of those little ones I miss so deeply...