What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day?
What if I told you that every day, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths? Would you believe me?
Welcome back to season 4 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast! My name is BJ Sipe, and I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father. And I’m excited to share a few moments together with you learning some important lessons from the simplest things. Thanks for tuning in!
It seems like the older that I get, the faster that time goes by. In less than two short weeks, Christmas will once again be upon us. I remember growing up as a child how far apart each Christmas seemed. You looked forward all year to its arrival, and then it was gone all too quickly – and it seemed like an eternity before it would come again. Nowadays, it feels like all I have to do is blink twice and turn around for a year to go flying by. I believe the biggest factor that has made time feel as though it is going by even faster is my children. They grow so incredibly fast, and our life is in a constant state of chaos in the stage of life that we are in. We have a 6 year old, a 4 year old, and a 2 year old. There are a few things that our home is generally not: quiet, clean, or caught up. Now let me clarify before we move on – my wife does an incredible job of managing our household. We have a very safe and healthy home. When is say those things, this is what I mean. When I say the house is never quiet, all you have to do is come spend one day with us. You never know what these kids are going to say or do – from random crying to endless questions, fart noises, or the sound of kids squealing while the go trampling through the house. It is a very joyful, fun house – but it for sure can be overstimulating at times. Even while I’m writing this, there is a constant bombardment of, “Dad, look at this” taking me away from completing my tasks. When I say our house is never clean, I mean kids are just messy – it’s what they are! We had company over last night, and after they left we were cleaning up the living room and Kylie was fluffing one of the pillow back cushions to the couch, only to reveal several of Dane’s toy swords stashed behind it. Around the house we find random crayon marks, random socks, and the occasional random cracker stashed away from time to time. There is no question when you come over that our home is full of children. When I say our house is never caught up, let me once again praise my wife. She is constantly on top of things – the laundry, the dishes, the chores, etc. But at this stage of our life, those things are kind of like the never-ending story, just with no luck dragon. As soon as you unload the dishwasher, the kids have made enough dishes for another load. As soon as you get caught up on the laundry, the hampers are full again. As soon as you give the kids a bath, they are in need of another one an hour later. It’s crazy, fast, and chaotic around here in the Sipe household. I was talking about this with a friend yesterday as they asked how things were going, and I started to share just how crazy things have been this week – that the kids have been in rare form with the Holidays so close. As I shared, they stopped me and said the following. “This stage of life you guys are in can certainly be stressful and overstimulating at times, that is absolutely true. But never forget to cherish these moments. They day will come sooner than you want that they won’t climb up in your laps anymore. They won’t draw you pictures or say, “Dad, look at this” every second. You won’t hear the sound of them running through the house, and in the quiet you craved at one time you will wish those days were back again.”
As I thought about their words of counsel, my mind went to the gospel of Luke and the person of Mary, the mother of Jesus. I have been going back through the Gospels recently as I have started some new devotionals, and there is something found on two occasions in the Gospel of Luke that grabbed my attention like it never has before. After declaring the birth of the Messiah to some shepherds in the field, they would quickly make their way to Bethlehem to see the child. The text tells us beginning in chapter 2:16, “They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.”
Luke will move quickly through the upbringing of Jesus, and by the time the second chapter ends we encounter a 12 year old Jesus who is among the teachers of Israel in the temple, listening and asking them questions. Having accidently been left behind in the city and finding him like this, the text tells us the following: “When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” “Why were you searching for me?” he asked them. “Didn’t you know that it was necessary for me to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.”
As I read through chapter two of Luke’s gospel, these passages stuck out in my mind for several reasons. First, because you see how quickly Jesus grew. He did not remain a child for long. Before Mary could blink twice and turn around, Jesus would be grown and starting his ministry to fulfill his mission he was on earth to accomplish. To this point, the second thing that stood out to me is Mary’s response to these moments with her son on two separate instances as he grew: she treasured these things up in her heart. I wonder how many more of these moments Mary had during Jesus’ upbringing, day in and day out. She did not take for granted this child that was given to her through the Holy Spirit. And while she knew his mission and the purpose for which he was brought into world, she would treasure the little time and the moments that she did have with him as a young child. Jesus was most assuredly the Son of God, but Mary was also very much his mother on this earth. She loved him, cared for him, and soaked up these moments that she had with him before they were gone all too quickly. I can’t imagine anything more overwhelming than having the Savior of the world be placed in your care…and yet despite the great responsibility, she found the time to stop and meditate on these moments, and treasure them up in her heart.
The purpose of this podcast today is specifically to edify those of you who are young parents. I want you to look to Mary, and I want you to remember her example. Our children, much like Jesus, have a purpose and mission in this life from God. They won’t stay with us forever, in fact before we know it our houses will be empty, and we will only have the memories of a once chaotic home to keep us company in the quiet. Having young children can be overwhelming and stressful at times. Life can seem to be flying by all to quickly as you devote yourself to raising your children. But even through all of this, don’t forget to stop and meditate on these things. Don’t forget to stop and treasure these moments in your heart, because they will be gone all too quickly. We only have one chance, one opportunity to impact the lives of our children before they are grown. They are not a nuisance, they are not a burden, they are not stressors – they are a blessing, one of God’s greatest ones. So, the next time you hear, “Hey Dad, look at this!” – stop what you’re doing and look at the joy on their face as you give them your attention. The next time you pull back the cushions and find toys, thank God for the beautiful, joyful children he’s given to you for these few short years of your life. The next time you have that mountain of laundry to fold at the end of an already long day, let your mind be flooded with the memories of the things they did in each little outfit that you had the blessing of being a part of. These are the good old days, one of the greatest gifts God has given to us, we would do well to never forget that.
Let us conclude with Psalm 127:3-5, “Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord, offspring, a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons born in one’s youth. Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them.”
This has been the Set Your Mind Above Podcast, season 4 episode 29 – and I’m so thankful that you decided to tune in today! A new episode is dropped most Fridays, so be sure to tune in next week. Also, if you’re able to, go ahead and like and subscribe to the podcast, as well as share it with someone else – it would help me greatly in trying to reach others. And more than anything, always remember the following: know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.
