Grandma Clara

Trina's Snippets

Crazy Love
Francis Chan

“Have you ever met someone who was utterly and desperately in love with Jesus? I have. My wife’s grandma Clara.

“Every morning Clara would kneel by her bed and spend precious hours with her Savior and Lover; later in the day, just the sight of that corner of her bed would bring joy-filled tears and a deep anticipation of the next morning spent kneeling in His presence.”

“In his book, God Is the Gospel, John Piper essentially asks whether we are in love with God:
‘The critical question for our generation-and for every generation-is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disaster, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?’”

From Trina: When I read the above from Francis Chan’s book, my first thought when reading about Grandma Clara, was “Oh, to have that kind of passion and intimacy with my Lord." And I wrote, “I can’t imagine the depth of that joy. Father, for this to describe my life would be my greatest joy. I do cherish my time in prayer and meditation and study with You and when I’m not in my prayer room, I am filled with emptiness and longing.” As I read the second paragraph, the quote from John Piper’s book, I wrote in my journal. “Lord, as I read this a hole swelled up from inside me as an appalled unfiltered, “NO” jumped from my lips. It was a shocking question. Heaven would not be heaven without Jesus.”

And even to feel as I do, it is still so much less than He deserves. I pray where ever each of us are in our walk with God, that we will never be completely satisfied, but pursue a greater intimacy with Him every single day of our lives.

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