Your Heart’s Treasure

Feb 14, 2014

Ah, Valentine’s Day!!  The mad dash to Wal-Mart to buy a card while fighting the other 50 guys who waited until the last minute, the frantic calls to restaurants to make a Valentine’s Day reservation ON Valentine’s Day, the realization we are going to eat somewhere food is ordered by the number, and sorting thru the dead flowers left at the bottom of the basket because I waited to late.

Sound familiar? I hope not because that disaster that will cost you more than you probably realize. That said I’m sure many have experienced something similar. After almost 31 years of marriage, I know exactly what Robin Stewart wants February 14 and also understand the order of importance:

5.​Dinner at a nice restaurant…nice enough that I have to change clothes before we go.

4.​A dozen red roses…in a vase not a plastic shopping bag (lady at Fresh Market is very helpful)

3.​A thoughtful card that appears to have been purchased several days ago instead of several minutes ago. (Helpful hintguys…make sure the descriptions in the card match the ladyreceiving the card!)

2.​When we sit for dinner, I put my phone away, ask “How was your day?” and then listen intently.

1.​Evidence the evening was carefully planned by her husband(for example: having reservations vs. showing up and being told there is a 45 minute wait)

The plan is more important than the event because Robin wants to know I love her too much to just show up and wing it. I TELL her she is special to me, but this is a wonderful opportunity to SHOW her. When a female receives a gift and says, “It’s the thought that counts” she means it. The thought is the demonstration of love in the relationship. Poor or no planning sends a signal that she isn’t very important.

The same is true with my relationship with God. How often we just show up at church, with an old bent card, no gift, no evidence of any investment on our part, and just say, “God, I need some help”?  Surely our relationship with our Father who loved us enough to send His only Son to die for our sins necessitates some thought and consideration?

God desires a relationship with me, yet I often treat Him as an afterthought. Instead of spending my first moment of the day in joyful appreciation I throw together a quick prayer sliding into bed at the end of the day (unless I am tired).  I spend money foolishly then explain to God I would give more for the work of the kingdom if He would just, “bless me with more”. Instead of treating my relationship with Him as the most important one to me, I treat it as something worth at best an hour on Sunday morning. I get so busy with stuff that I forget He told me if I would seek Him first He would take care of all the “stuff” (Matt 6:33).

How it must break God’s heart when I arrive without my gift of praise and instead am only holding my list of needs. How it must frustrate Him when I always seem to find something else to do with the gifts He gave me instead of using them for the kingdom.

Early in our relationship we celebrated a Valentine’s Day with very little planning. It would have been easy for Robin to crush me for it,but she loved me enough to give me another chance. God does the same thing for us. It’s never too late to improve our relationship with him. Here are some simple steps:

1-Make Him your 1st thought instead of an afterthought. – He sent His Son to die for us surely we can live for Him.

2-Spend time daily thanking Him for who He is before we ask for anything. Then study the Word and ponder it throughout the day as He shows us what He wants us to see.

3-Show the world how much we love Him by our actions. Talk is cheap. Matt 6:21 says, “Where your treasure is, your heart will also be”. When we treasure Him, we demonstrate it to the world with intentional purpose.  My friends know I love Robin because I demonstrate it. Do my actions demonstrate my love for Christ to those same people?

When Robin woke up this morning, I know she smiled because Feb 14 is always special. She knows she will get my best effort.  I hope when I knelt before God this morning, He also smiled knowing He was going to get my best.

Chuck 

Hebrews 12:1-2 

Faith Gained Through Faith Lost

This past Thursday around 1015, a doctor informed Danielle and I that our baby girl Faith no longer had a heart beat. After 3 months of preparing to be parents for the first time, and even finding out that she would be a baby girl, both of us were shocked to find out that Faith's heart had stopped beating almost 3 1/2 weeks ago. I can't describe the level of shock I felt because Danielle was through the "danger" time of having a miscarriage and I only thought a deformity could happen. In a matter of minutes, we began an appointment hoping she'd measure out ok, to leaving there with an appointment to deliver her that afternoon. 

The events of Thursday are remarkable in so many ways. For starters, I live by a code that includes the following: the state of your wife's emotional well-being is a direct reflection of the depth of your manhood. If you can love her like a man should, she can act like a woman is suppose to. Well, I won't ever consider myself to have "arrived" as a complete man, but I watched my wife handle news no woman should hear like a woman completely full of God's Grace. I know it was incredibly hard for her, but she immediately took the words "God has a purpose and plan for all things" and began to walk this journey with humility knowing I had her back.

A few weeks ago, we decided that this little girl would be named Faith. Danielle and I have both grown to new levels of maturity and understanding of God's Word and Will for our lives. We both experienced tragedy and tough times in 2010 with the loss of her father and my injury in Afghanistan. Faith during these two times both directly led to how we met and ultimately started our journey together. This journey has included many life changes and ultimate decisions involving the path we would walk. We both have ultimately decided in our own ways and together how we would serve God with our lives. These past few months have been some of the best of our lives. From getting married, honeymoon in Hawaii, summer nights on the lake, trip to Cuba, two pups, meeting a brand new group of friends in Clinton, and then finding out Dani was expecting: our life as a married couple has been a blessing and a testament to what His Love and Faith can do.

Then Thursday hit us, and honestly, what could have devastated our relationship, family, and belief system has done the exact opposite. First, I watched my wife voluntarily submit to a procedure that might have taken up to 24 hours to complete and had the potential of being very painful. Why? So she could deliver our little girl without damaging her two ounce body. We knew Faith was no longer with us, but we also knew Faith is our daughter and it is our responsibility to love and protect her. Now, in that room, I was in Danielle's corner no matter what procedure she chose, as I knew this was incredibly hard without my opinion on the matter. After she made that decision, I was by her side not knowing what would unfold. 

Immediately after getting the news, we notified our immediate family (Danielle's mom was with us) as well as our close friends for Prayer and support. For those of you unsure on the actual power of prayer, the twelve hours following that dreadful news could not have been any more peaceful than they were and could not have medically unfolded any smoother than we had hoped. I told you, Dani choosing to be induced to safely deliver Faith meant we could be waiting for up to 24 hours, and it only took a little over 5 hours for our little girl to arrive. 

The time Danielle and I got to spend with Faith is not only the turning point of this story, but for our lives. I have certain images in my head of key events in my life: driving the boat with my grandfather as a small boy, road trip with dad to West Point, my childhood dog Derail, Arlington National Cemetery, small Cuban kids I played with on a mission trip, my arm immediately after getting blown up, my wife walking down the aisle. These images will go with me in this world, but none will carry the weight of the remembering the time I held my daughter in my hand and prayed not for her lifeless body, but for her beautiful soul I will one day see. It was hard holding Faith, I can't deny, but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Dani and I have talked, smiled, laughed, cried, and just sat and stared together as we thought about her. We have seen tangible growth in our lives from November 16th (day we found out Dani was expecting) to the time that doctor told us about Faith. It does not come close to the growth we have had since 1145 pm on February the 13th until now. 

Many have wondered how we are remaining true to our beliefs and faith in the sovereign God in such a time of despair. For us, it is just the time to cling to His promises. We know one thing from the unsatisfying thoughts and experiences of this world: We Were Made For Another One! And in that time, where there is no pain, sadness, and death, that's when we will not only meet our daughter Faith, but celebrate what her life, our lives, and hopefully yours were all about: Jesus Christ. 

You see, we have learned so much through our daughter's life about not only our existence here on earth, but our purpose: and that is to live and love for the Honor and Glory of God! Nothing more, nothing less! We've learned that Faith's life has pointed more people towards Christ and drawn even more, closer to His love and goodness than we could've ever hoped for in a child. Therefore, we are not sad, bitter, or even confused about the death of our daughter, because it's not about her, me, or Danielle. We are celebrating, because right now she is with Who everything is about and many are better today than they were just one week ago, including myself! So Thank You Faith, for teaching your mom and dad that Life is about perspective, and that we should always be looking up at the victory of God, instead of bowing our heads in defeat on earth. Which way is your head looking?