We must think over and over the kinds of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives Henry David Thoreau

Do you have a wish list? A list of things you want to possess? A list of places you want to visit? Maybe certain people you want to meet? What about characteristics you wish you could manifest? Well I definitely have a wish list! I wish I could turn back the clock and have perfect health and no surgical scars and no lingering illness. I wish I could stop battling with anxiety with the snap of a finger. I wish my husband could retire and we could travel.  I wish I could visit Alaska and take the inside passage cruise…..yes my list could go on and on, I’m sure yours could too.

Sometimes we wish we could be kids again. It’s so much easier to tend to a skinned knee then repair a broken heart. However, I realize that the things I wish for might never materialize. The things I wish for might not be the things the Lord wants me to have. I don’t want to go through trials to build my character! I think I can build it myself.  That’s why the bible tells us that God’s thoughts are so much higher than ours.  We have no idea what we are capable of enduring. We have no idea of what great attributes lie within us that these trials are bringing to manifestation. We learn to never say “I can’t take anymore”, or “I can’t do this anymore”. You will find that you indeed can keep doing it. The trial will eventually end and you will look back and know there was a purpose and you are stronger because of it.

As I was thinking about my incredibly long wish list, I started to think about God’s wish list. I feel like when I pray, I present a very long wish list to the Lord. What about His wish list for me? He says in His precious Word that He has no greater Joy than to see His children walk in truth. Am I walking in all the truth I know? Do I turn the other cheek when someone lashes out against me? Do I say daily, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do”? Or do I seethe in anger at someone who has wronged me? Do I go to bed angry at someone, when the bible commands me to not let the sun go down upon your wrath? What about killing someone’s influence? What about taking credit for something you didn’t do but someone else worked really hard for? I’m sure we are all guilty of doing these things and I know if we want to fulfill the Lord’s wish list we will endeavor to change our wish list to one that will please Him and not ourselves. Our wants are truly endless. If you make a million dollars you won’t be content, you will want 2 million.

I want to pursue a new wish list that does not include my selfish desires but one that has eternal value.  We will take nothing from this world except our character. I want to live my life magnifying the Lord and the wish list He has for me!