Seasons of Life

While having coffee with a friend this evening, it struck me that life - no matter how long you get to live it here on earth - is filled with many "seasons". Recently, we were talking in our Bible study about that very thing. There is the 20-something age, where the world is open and vibrant and new. You are invincible and your story is unwritten. Then the thirties come, and you become more stable and you settle down. Children are born, careers are either advanced or put on hold. The forties are met with changing tides, such as children leaving the nest and possibly changes in careers or the entrance or re-entrance into the work force. The fifties find us preparing for the marriages of children, perhaps the arrival of grandchildren, and the realization that we are getting older after all! It goes on and on, sixties bringing on retirement, the seventies ailments and possible health set-backs. For those fortunate enough to enjoy the eighties and nineties, those years bring sweet memories and (for believers) the winding down of life and the looking forward to eternity with a Risen Savior.

Right now, my husband has recently entered his forties and I am creeping up on them. We have four terrific kids and a bright future. I have high hopes that the future we look to will be full of great memories -- memories of the kids growing up and marrying, having our grandchilren come visit, and taking trips during our retirement. I can't think of anything more wonderful, more exciting, this side of Heaven's gates.

What about when those expectations are cut short? Tragedy can strike at will. Health problems arise, people grow apart, children leave home, anything can and sometimes does happen. So what then? What happens when life throws a curve you didn't expect? What is your response? My response, if I'm being totally honest, is to say "But this wasn't supposed to be this way!" Oh yeah? Who says? We are desperately seeking answers when tragedy befalls those we love...or worse, when it strikes us. This night alone, I have learned of the death of a friend's mother and the impending death of a friend at church. Both came as a shock to me, because it was my understanding things were looking up. I have prayed for these women, holding them and lifting them up to the Lord. I am so saddened by the fact that God cannot heal them here, and that He has to take them Home to do so. HOWEVER, I am SO glad for them that they will be healed - fully and completely.

Cancer sucks. Can I just say that out loud? So do migraines, herniations, strokes, heart attacks, and freak accidents. But we serve a loving God that will not forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). When we put our faith in Jesus, we no longer have to worry about the end. I can't say that I wouldn't be devastated by having to face the death of a loved one, because I have been, and I won't say that I would not be fearful at first if my own life were threatened or coming to a close. I will say, that God has this. He doesn't always make sense in our earthly minds and with our earthen worldview, but in His grand scheme...the Master Plan, HE HAS GOT THIS. We have to trust Him and know that His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8) and that it will ALL make sense one day. It won't here.

I know that when someone writes something like this, they often wonder if it will be tested. Whether they will be called to prove what they believe; put your money where your mouth is, so to speak. I have to admit that when I began blogging, I wondered about that. So many of these blogs started out the same way. They began as a way to keep in touch with family members, a start of an adoption or birth story, a way to reach people with a thought, idea, or concept...or maybe even just an online journal. I started mine as the latter. I began writing simply to write. I have always enjoyed writing, even as a small child. When I read other blogs, it just seemed like a fun concept. I love to speak to people. This gives me that avenue and it's not as time-consuming or personal, so I can think before I speak and others' words don't have the same sting. I often wonder, however, how much I will be called to prove of my belief. Again, I will not falter and I will trust in Jesus.

For all of those hurting right now, aching from the loss of a loved one, damaged by abuse at the hands of another, struggling with recovery or addiction, or just having a really hard time with life at the moment, there IS HOPE. I pray for all of you. I offer up hugs into cyberspace...the good kind. (smile) Please know you have Someone who DOES know what you are going through. He has experienced it and is ready and willing to walk side-by-side and do it WITH you.

Father in Heaven, please be with each and every person I love and those I know of that I don't know at all or very well. I lift them up to You in prayer, prayer for healing, relief, reLEASE, strength, and peace. Above all, I pray that Your presence would be felt strongly in their lives right now. That You would be very evident to them and they could feel the prayers being said on their behalf. Lord, let it be Your will. Bless each and every one of them in Your HOLY and precious name...the name of Jesus. AMEN.