Bless Your Heart Devotions - Give me Jesus

If you only had 4 hours to evacuate your home….What would you take with you?
1. The people you love.
2. All the food and clothing for survival that could fit in the trunk of your car.

Suddenly your focus narrows down to just the important things.

Now think about all you would have to leave behind.
1. Grandaddy’s treasured Bible laying on the coffee table.
2. Your Great Aunt’s heirloom quilt in the closet.
3. Grandma’s fragile china.
4. The brand new house you just purchased.

This is what my entire family in Texas went through when hurricane Rita took a direct path over their town a few years ago. The call went out to evacuate Houston when suddenly the storm took another path and their town was forced to evacuate instead.  My family had about 4 hours to gather their belongings and flee, for they had a healthy respect for the deadly winds of a category 4 hurricane.
If we are fortunate, we will occasionally live through moments when our vision is suddenly forced to focus on the matters of the heart, when we must urgently see what is most precious in our lives. Some moments may be heart wrenching, while others may be one of those snapshot moments when we look into the faces of our loved ones and realize just how truly blessed we really are. 

Before, during and after every one of these times of clarity, whether in joy or pain, there is One who is greater standing by, calling our hearts to focus on the eternal.  Jeremy Camp wrote a song, whose lyrics I summarized here:

In the morning, when I rise
Give me Jesus.
When I am alone,
Give me Jesus.
When I come to die,
Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.