Eternity is a Breath Away
- Sara Joseph
- Apr 5
- 4 min read
“All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory of man
as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
But the word of the LORD
endures forever.” 1 Peter 1: 24-25
The essence of youth is feeling as if time stands still and will continue to do so forever!
I once thought that hitting the thirty year mark defined getting old. Life barely existed for me after sixteen! Now as those milestones are mere memories, I'm acutely aware of eternity hovering just a breath away.
No, I am not that old, just a little more grown up! Besides, I am an eternal being.
As I write this, a blustery wind is ushering another crisp spring morning in Texas. Barbara, a beloved friend of mine, who once lived just a few houses away on my street, gave me these flowers.
Every year she brought me a colorful bouquet from her garden, which always bloomed before mine. When thanking her with a hug and chatting about silly, every day matters, I was oblivious of the time limit imposed on those precious moments.
I painted her blooms one year, never realizing that it would be the last time we'd share this spring routine. A year later she was absent from us and present with the Lord! Her life of faithfully serving Jesus reached a destiny I aspire to—eternity with Him, knowing Him as I am known.
Some of her last blooms had roots, with dirt still clinging to them in wet clumps. On a whim, I planted those in my own garden. Now they colorfully wave in the breeze at this time every year, reminding me of the sweetness of our friendship and the brevity of my time here on earth.
More than our love for beauty, we shared an insatiable appetite for God's word! Reverence for its force in our lives formed the basis for many prayers, and conversations.
We often marveled at the fidelity of our contemporary Bible to the ancient manuscripts, despite countless attempts to water it down, editorialize it or cloud its power by creating flawed translations. How remarkable that a version true to the original can still be found worldwide! The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls put to death the cynic's taunt that it's words could not possibly make it through millennia without being changed in translation. Much of the old testament was found to be verbatim, except for some minor, inconsequential variations.
Barbara and I often compared notes of its power in our ordinary lives! It's 66 books, penned by over forty authors of diverse cultural backgrounds, came alive when read in humility and faith. Upon invitation, God joined us as we sat in solitude, lost in its pages, morning after morning. He helped us unlock its mysteries.
When we shared our discoveries, He was there again, cementing our understanding. His pleasure was translated into supernatural events, when we acted on His words in faith, events that transformed our lives from ordinary to something that was beyond rational explanation!
Heaven touches earth as God breathes on His words to craft an exquisite work of eternity within humans that defies description. That is the true power of the Bible.
Whenever I think of art and beauty, I sense that genuine beauty is more than the human eye can behold. It encompasses visions that are only complete when a spiritual dimension is included.
Genuine beauty is perceived not viewed.
No matter how hard I try, no work of art I ever set my hands to can aspire to an internal standard of perfection that I hold in my heart. That elusive ideal is yearned for with a longing that stays unfulfilled and just out of reach. But that doesn't stop me from trying. Instead, it energizes me to press on, to offer my efforts as a tangible act of worship, a physical act, longing for expression. I consider myself so very fortunate to be an artist.
And time is the medium in which I am to explore the very essence of God—beauty, folded into every aspect of creation as lovingly as a mother tucks notes of love in her child's lunchbox. Time moves on, relentlessly. Eternity is a mere breath away.
Am I using my time wisely? Do I truly appreciate the fleeting moments as I ought? Do you? Keeping eternity in mind will propel you to live intentionally and with more gravitas. Our remaining springs on earth are limited in time, no matter how young you are.
I leave you with one of my own fervent prayers, prayed in a different time and circumstance by Moses.
"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Psalm 90:12
Wisdom is expending precious hours in communion with God, delighting in His beauty, and responding with every means possible. It's sharing those hand crafted expressions so that others may not miss the wonder of His goodness in their own lives.
"Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary." Psalm 96:6
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