Just One More Minute

     4:49, 4:50.  Come on!  10 more minutes and the weekend starts!  10 more minutes and I'm outta here!  Ever wished time away?  Just couldn't wait for the end of the work day or holiday or vacation to start?  Yeah, we've all done that. 
     Something recently occurred to me though.  While one person is wishing time would hurry, another is sitting in a hospital ICU by a loved one's bedside and wishing for just one more minute.  One more hug.  One more 'I love you'.  One more anything.
     One more minute.  When I was a little girl and just starting school, I can still remember (yes that was a long time ago) wanting to to stay in the car just one more minute.  In fact I begged to stay in the car just one more minute.  My family was going to have a great day without me and I just didn't want to miss it.  Why did I have to get out of the car and go to school?   I just wanted to stay with them one more minute.
     Luke 12:25 Asks an interesting question.  "Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?"  This passage is actually talking about trusting God for everything, in everything.  No matter how hard we try or how much we worry, we can't have even one more minute than God had planned for us from the beginning.  We can't be 'good' enough to live longer.  We can't be smart enough or cunning enough.  God had our days numbered before we were even born.
     Ever wish you could go back a minute?  Back to one minute before you said something hateful to your spouse?  One minute before you lost your temper at your kids?  One minute before you made a decision that would forever alter your life, your spouse's life, the lives of your kids?  I know I've wished to go back.  Boy, would I do things differently.
     But here's the deal.  While we can't go back, we can be forgiven and have the life God has planned for us.  "From the depths of my despair I call to you, Lord.  Hear my cry, O Lord; listen to my call for help!  If you kept a record of our sins, who could escape being condemned?  But you forgive us, so that we should stand in awe of you."  (Psalm 130:1-4)  God You keep no record of our sins!  Because of Jesus' sacrifice, we are forgive.  Dear Lord, I stand in awe of You...........
     And if God can forgive us, shouldn't we forgive each other?  Ever repeated The Lord's Prayer?  Matthew 6:12 says "Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us."  Wow.......Is there anyone you need to forgive?  Sounds like we only want God to forgive us like we forgive others.  Does that mean that if we don't forgive them, God doesn't have to forgive us? Hmmm......
     So you've done too much you say?  Really?  That's not what God says.  Recently I found recordings we made as Christmas gifts in 1990.  Expecting a baby and having very little money, we decided to record some songs and give the collection to our families as gifts.  So after converting one of these cassettes to CD last month, it has become a 'hit', well at least in my car.  I absolutely love listening to the songs and hearing our 'young' voices harmonizing praises to God.  The song that has gotten my attention the most these last few days  is "In Heaven's Eyes".
     "In Heaven's Eyes, there are no losers.  In Heaven's Eyes, no hopeless cause.  Only people like you, with feelings like me.  And we're amazed by the grace we can find In Heaven's eyes."  No matter what we've done, as long as we have one more minute, it's not too late to forgive someone who has wronged us.  It's not too late to ask for God's forgiveness.  There is absolutely no one who is beyond His forgiveness.  There is positively no sin Jesus' blood can't cleanse. 
     About that one more minute.......wouldn't you rather have a lot of minutes?  A lot of hours, days and years to live the life God has planned for you?  Jeremiah 29:11 tells us God has amazing things planned for us.  But we must seek Him (v12-13) with our whole hearts to get to experience the future He has planned for us.  How about this minute?  Come to Him now.  Please.  He's waiting.  It's a minute you will always remember.  One minute that will change your life forever.  Won't you choose to have that minute now?