Devotional IF I HAD KNOWN

 This is one of the pictures I came across, taken in the backyard of our first home. Chinen-san was one of my favorite housekeepers growing up, not only a super help for my Mom, showing her how to adapt to life in Okinawa, but she took time to talk with us little ones too. She was one of those "radar" people who was able to anticipate your questions and give you the answers before the words were phrased, knew exactly what change of clothes needed to be laid out or care needed to be taken before they were asked for.

She said at the end of World War II, she'd been captured by U.S. soldiers but ran away. She was caught again but slipped away when the guard looked the other way. When she was found the 3rd time, she was told to behave or would have to be tied, and noticed then friends and family caught earlier had been well fed. She'd been taught captives were starved and tortured, but she could see this was far from the truth. She stayed after that, and she didn't have to be tied.

Many Christians think Heaven will be a spiritual unending church service in the sky and do NOT look forward to it. I don't know if I'd go as far as saying they think of it as TORTURE. (Altho' I know there are people who have a misunderstanding of Biblical eternity and get depressed thinking about it.)

It's not just Heaven; all God would hand us. How many of us live for the Lord, because we have escaped the sentence of death and do not have to die and are gorging ourselves on His riches, not running around thinking we must go on living for Him since it is our spiritual duty?

"If I had known," Chinen-san said, "I wouldn't have run so hard."