Casandra Martin

I was out of my element. I sat under the pile of blankets, trying to keep warm. My teeth chattered. I was shaking under three layers of clothes, and my toes were numb in my boots. To say I was cold was an understatement.

Last week, this Texas girl made a trip to Maine. When I left the airport, Houston was on its way to another 100+ day. While Texas is still in the grip of its hottest summer on record, Maine is already enjoying the first taste of fall. Cold temperatures left frost on the ground and New Englanders reaching for their coats and scarves.

The cold days and colder nights highlighted the fact that I don’t live in this area. I belong somewhere else. The ladies I was with wereincredibly compassionate, sharing their blankets, sweaters, gloves, and kind hearts with me, but even layered in five shirts, I couldn’t get warm.

Being so cold provided me with a blessing. We are to live our lives remembering this is not where we belong. We have another home. There is beauty to behold in this world, people to love, lessons to learn, and blessings to enjoy, but we are not supposed to be entirely comfortable here. The hardships and struggles hold the potential to remind us of home. To help us remember that there is another place for our hearts.

My Jesus Resolution today is to be thankful for a struggle. My faith is grounded in the reality that there is more than this life to live for. I am going to let the difficult things in my day point my heart to heaven. I am going to see God working in my present circumstances, preparing me for the time when I will celebrate being fully in His presence. It was obvious to everyone that I wasn’t used to the cold weather. That is a good thing. People should be able to look at me in every circumstance and be able to see that this isn’t really where I belong. I was made for another place. I was made to look like Jesus.