He was 33

This year I will turn 34 years old.

As I get older, I realize more and more that my life is but vapor. I am not guaranteed tomorrow. Therefore, I must make the most of each day.

Jesus did.

When he died, Jesus was 33 years old.

My age.

He ministered for 3 years before his death.

Yet he left a legacy.


So, I pause to think about my life.

I've been a Christian for 7 years, more than double the length of Jesus' ministry. I ask the question, "If I died today, would I leave a legacy?"

Sure I want people to remember me as a good person, but more than that I want to leave behind a Jesus loving generation, people who love Him because I radiated his love to them.

Sometimes I find myself being more patient and loving toward strangers and losing my temper with my household. Sometimes I find myself caring more about my family's needs than the needs of the lost.  Sometimes I find myself totally lost in the shuffle of life, not knowing whether I'm coming or going.  At all of these times, I am convicted. 

I thank God for conviction.

It makes me STOP and look at MYSELF. 

It makes me STOP and think about HIM.

It makes me STOP and remember that I AM NOT PERFECT.

It makes me STOP and realize that I WANT DESIRE TO BE MORE LIKE HIM.

I am thankful that the conviction touches me in way that I don't run away, but run toward Jesus. That my eyes are truly opened to the fact that I messed up, that I wasn't following his lead, that I wasn't be "very Christian."

I am 33.  I am a sinner. I have a great love for my Jesus. I have a great desire to be more like him and follow God's plan for my life. I pray daily that he will make me the woman he has planned, that I would be open to his will and not shy away from what he wishes for me.

He was 33. He lived a simple life. He loved.  He was betrayed.  He was beaten. Humiliated. Crucified.  He died for me. For you.

I thank Jesus for the love he shows me all the time, not just when I do good.  For the patience he has for me (he knows I need it).