My sons have never experienced hard times. While I’m appreciative that God has blessed them in such a wonderful way, I can’t help but worry about them when the dark day comes and descends upon them with a vengeance. They seem so unprepared and I’d give anything if I could spare them the agony of it all.
Yesterday my father was taken to the emergency room with two aneurisms in one leg and four in the other. He’s 92 and the prognosis is not good. Without an operation he will most certainly die; ironically an operation could very likely cause him to die due to his weakened and frail condition. It’s a serious situation. He’s scheduled for surgery on Monday and I ask that you pray that he will not suffer and that God’s will be done.
My father is the last remaining member of my immediate family. My mother died suddenly of a brain tumor at the young age of 52, and my only brother committed suicide a decade ago. Most of you reading this have experienced gut wrenching anguish and grief of your own at one time or another and can relate to those awful days of grief. While it’s difficult to endure the loss of a loved one, it does seem to better prepare us for other dark days ahead and I suppose that is the light in the midst of the darkness.
I’ve lived through all kinds of anguish in my life; most of it self-inflicted and a consequence of my many dark sins; some of it had nothing to do with me or my sin but was just the natural order of a fallen world. King Solomon wrote about this phenomenon and described it as follows:
For everything there is a season,
A time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
Yesterday I wrote about a funny incident in Words for the Day. Later that morning I received the news of my father’s serious condition. What a difference a few hours can make.
Hmmm . . . Two completely different seasons in a matter of hours . . .
My youngest son loves his mama! Let me tell you one thing that is as certain as the sun rising in the east every morning, there is a bond that they have between them that is as strong as the binder that holds the Universe together. When the season for his mama changes, he will be devastated.
What will he do? He’s a follower of Christ and no matter how much grief he endures he will turn to his Father in heaven for the comfort and understanding that can only come from Him.
God will gently remind him that followers of Christ are appointed a time to be born and a time to die. When that day arrives we will no doubt shed some tears, (for ourselves), but those of us who are followers of Christ will be whispering “bon voyage” instead of “goodbye”, knowing that our loved one is merely leaving on a trip ahead of us to receive their lifetime achievement reward (unfathomable in its glory), and our time is but a short season away . . .
And oh the reunion there will be . . .
When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!
Psalms 30:1
You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
November 7, 2013 – Click here to listen