"When The Tent Begins to Sag, Keep Your Eyes On The Mansion"

"We've been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less."

2 Corinthians 5:5 MSG

Well I have to admit this chapter was not as good as I was hoping. Ok, so it was good but not helpful for what I'm struggling with. I think was meant to be but I don't see how. The chapter talked about how when we get to heaven we will receive new, glorified and perfect bodies. Which is great and exciting to look forward to, but I don't know how that is supposed to help me feel better about how I look now and how I am. I did, however, want to share something that I found in this chapter. The author used to help out at a retirement community and she pointed out some of the life lessons: 

• "Three keys to living a joyful and victorious life: Jesus Christ, a positive attitude, and a thankful heart. We have a choice when life throws the tough stuff at us. We can choose to keep our eyes on these and rise above the situation, or we can choose to keep our eyes on ourselves and become negative and bitter."
• "Relationships are what matter in life. The time and investment we make in others determine the dividends we receive later."
• "Life isn't fair no matter what our age and stage of life because we live in a broken world."
• "Our faith in Jesus is all that remains when life has stripped us of what the earth deems valuable."
• "Healing can sometimes come slowly, but with every trace of it we can be assured we're headed in the right direction."
• "We naturally assign ourselves value by what we do, not by who (or whose) we are. And because of it, we struggle when change occurs."
• "To grow older can be difficult, but to grow older with Jesus is beautiful. Our bodies will deteriorate, but inwardly we are being renewed every day (2 Corinthians 4:16)."

While the chapter didn't really help me with this constant battle I'm struggling with, I found those life lessons extremely good and helpful just for life in general. The first one especially stuck out to me. Really, it's true! To get through life that is really all we need. Jesus Christ, first and foremost. A positive attitude. A thankful heart. I know I'm not always good at keeping my focus on these three things, but it is my goal to do so with whatever life throws at me.

Another thing I had underlined was "when we turn our eyes to Jesus, when we soak in His declaration of who He is and who we are because of Him, the lies give way to truth and our discontentment becomes celebration! Keep looking up!" Oh, how I wish I can have this truth sink into my heart and mind. That's my problem is the truth doesn't seem to be able to really sink in like it needs to. I know what the truth is, but struggle to accept and truly believe it. God, I yearn and long to really know and accept this truth that I am beautiful to You!! Please open my eyes and heart. Show me I'm a beautiful daughter of the King!

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."

~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross