Dear Lizzie Mae,

Earth had yet to bathe in first dawn.

Coruscating flares glisten immense in reaches of crystal purple like droplets of glistening diamonds in a goblet of fine wine. Beyond other earths, beyond their moons, beyond eons of light posturing spirals, beyond the fulminating furies, on the other side of black night, in resplendent glory, and before the first instance of time, breathed the living Word in primal vitality, pulsating rhythmic cadence,

The Word was with God.

The Word was God.

In some time or era, more than 15 Billion years ago, in the mind of God, you were conceived. Before earth was born, before the stars emerged, before the "Big Bang," you were formed in the mind of the Creator.

Let that sink in.

Inside or outside that great vacuum we call space, God lived and for a reason known only to him, God thought of you. On the day, at the hour you were born into this world, you were fulfilling the purpose of the One who created you. You came at just the right moment in human history to accomplish that purpose. The country or continent in which you were born, the culture into which you were born, the city or town, your parents -- you were born because God purposed it before any planet circumscribed its first orbit around its glowing sun, within its spiral galaxy.

Years ago, I stood next to a tree that was a mere sapling – 700 years before Christ was born. Now, it is the largest tree (The "General Sherman" Sequoia) on earth. More than 100' in circumference, it soared 275 feet above me; 36 feet through its trunk from one side of it to the other. I thought of how small and insignificant I was compared to this giant. Then it struck me,

"Not So!"

This tree may also have existed in the mind of God before the world was. But unlike you, and unlike me, it will not live eternally. It was not created to live forever. You are. That great tree will have lost its coverings and turned to dust while you are getting your first whisper of eternal life.

"I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish." -- Jesus Christ

This eternal life is not something to struggle for. It is not something you can meritoriously achieve owing to how good or brilliant you are. It is a gift; a simple gift that one might give a child for no other reason than it is loved. It is a gift to be treasured above all other.

"The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." -- Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ

-- PDM

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