One Thousand Years of Purpose - Today!

A Cup of Tea with Carol
Written By Carol McLeod

I realized last night as I set my alarm, plumped my pillows for a final time, and turned out my bedside light, that I always dread the end of a day.

There is always an unspeakable sadness that washes over me at night as I lay my head down and pull the covers around my chin in the sweet moments before sleep overtakes me.

Another day has come and gone … and this valuable day will never return to me.

I will never get to live this particular day again.  This day has disappeared into the memory bank known as “the good old days” …  or “yesterday” …  or “the way we used to be”.

This day has disappeared like the dew on the morning grass.

I now have one less day to live with passion in my heart and with joy overflowing from every cell in my body.

One less day …

I now have one less day of celebration … of Thanksgiving … of gratitude … of encouragement … of hope … of evangelism.

One less day …

I now have one less day to pray healing prayers … to share the Word … to read my Bible … to write a new book … to change someone’s life.

One less day …

I now have one less day to hold a grandbaby … to laugh with a daughter or daughter-in-law … to have a rich conversation with a son or a son-in-law … to call my mom and listen to her voice.

One less day …

I now have one less day to love my husband … to listen for God’s compelling voice … to reconnect with an old friend … to visit somewhere that I have never been … to worship this side of eternity.

One less day …

I vividly recall other seasons of life when I couldn’t WAIT to lay my head on the pillow!  I couldn’t WAIT to turn out the light and escape into a restful slumber.  I couldn’t WAIT for a day to finally be over!

But now is not that season.  Now that unhurried symphony no longer plays on the strings of my heart.

Now there is a different melody playing: there is a fierce impatience in every measure and a rapidity of driving purpose wrapped in its very movement.

My life is not passing by in a pedantic march of boring procession but it is flying faster and faster in a rapid staccato of rhythm.

I feel like I am a little girl on a swiftly moving train as I watch the glory of life rush by and I am unable to catch it!  I am unable to take a picture … to embrace it … to linger among the beauty of its days.

Oh!  How I long for life to slow down!  

Oh!  How I deeply desire to thorougly enjoy a day that moseys along with the languid movement of maple syrup fresh from the tree.

Why can’t days dawdle like a little boy on his way to school?  

Each day seems to be in a greater hurry than the last one and now I am incredulously left with much less time in front of me than I have behind me.

Life is pouring through the fingers of my heart without delay and I am unable to slowly cherish the treasure of each 24 hours that have been given to me.

I am out of breath watching my life scramble by with accelerating motion!  

“Life!  Slow down!  I have just begun to live!”

“But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.” – II Peter 3:8

And when I read the ancient words … the sacred words … that have lived in the heart of God for all of eternity … my heart begins to rest.  Peace comes flooding into my human soul and replaces the panic that has momentarily taken up residence in my heart.

The Lord does indeed have a perspective on time and eternity that is a balm to my out-of-breath existence and He calls me “Beloved” as He speaks.

Just hearing His voice whisper, “Beloved” replaces my panic with His purpose.

Peter and the Holy Spirit gently remind me, the “Beloved”, that the way that God views time and the way that I view time are light years apart.

From God’s perspective, He can place one thousand years of purpose into one ordinary day!  If I have 25 years of life left … that is 9,150 days in my calendar book but to God … it has the impact of 9,150,000 years!

I adore the way that God views time!  I need His eternal perspective so much more than I need my temporary melancholy melody! 

God is able to take a 24-hour period of time and pack so much purpose, delight and abundance into it that it takes on the weight and meaning of a thousand years of living!  

How is that for mathematics?!

And so tonight when I lay my weary head on the pillow, I will not have a tear dripping down my wrinkled cheek, but I will smile as I look ahead to the one thousand years of living that God and I intend to embrace over the next 24 hour period!

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Carol McLeod
Carol says, “I am just a girl who is head over heels in love with Jesus ... passionately addicted to His Word ... and find all of the joy that I need in time spent in His presence." Carol is a Christmas-aholic, loves ACC basketball and the beach! Like all menopausal women, she is overly fond of chocolate and enjoys a good read. She doesn't like cleaning her house and is an expert in carry-out dinners. She hates to shop … loves to jog … and somehow finds time in her busy life to hang out with small children. She is the kind of woman that you could laugh with over lunch, cry with over disappointment and shout with over a victory! But … if you need her official bio … read on! Carol is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. She also hosts highly successful Just Joy! outreaches. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN.  A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers.  Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain.  She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY.  Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren! Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN.  A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers.  Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain.  She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY.  Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren!
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