Going Home

I talked to my friend this morning whose mom is peacefully slipping away from her life on this earth. Hospice has been called in, but it is only God who knows when she will take her final breath. I have traveled on this road, as many of you have, and though every situation has its the personal framework about it and within it, it is hard to let go of someone who has been a lifetime influence.

I sit here writing this morning thinking about life, and how on one hand it seems to be slow moving, if we look at it from a daily standpoint, but on the other hand when we stand at death's door as we watch a loved one slipping away, it seems like it has gone by so fast. Have we taken for grated the moments, the opportunities, the blessings that have come our way, or have we embraced them knowing that they are fleeting?

As I spoke to my friend, I could hear the weariness in her voice. Her mom had rallied time and time again but her mom's body was just worn out. She is in her late 90's, and has lived her life, surrounded by a loving and doting family. I had a chance to visit with Ann a couple of weeks ago. She was sitting up in her wheel chair, dressed in a beautiful robe, hair neatly brushed and her glasses on. I asked her," what are three pieces of advice that you would pass along to me in wisdom?" She thought a minute and then replied. Always put God first...
pray and stay busy and be joyful. That pretty much covered the way she lived. She read her bible nearly each day and did depend and solicit God's intervention and guidance. And as far as the joy, she was filled with it and even at her age, 98 she still had the ability to pass that joy on in humor, in love, and in wisdom.

Three things:
Put God First
Pray and Stay Busy
Be Joyful

It is my humble honor to have known this precious lady and to have had a first hand view of the way she lived. For she lived what she believed, she didn't just talk about it. She walked the talk. The three steps are simple, ones I surely identify with, yet too often I muddle them up with the small stuff, the me stuff, the insignificant stuff, the stuff that gets me far off of God's course. I make things hard when I sidestep God and his authority, and step in his way with my words and my actions and my attitude. She didn't. She was at peace every time I saw her, and grateful so grateful just to be alive and to be doing something with someone who cared to be with her.

We want to be around people who are joyful, who have a countenance about them that is gracious and content whatever the circumstances. I want to be that person. But I know that it is only through the grace and guidance of God that I will ever achieve it.
She is 98....I figure I have got some time, but only God knows the day and the hour that he will call me home. God should be first, undeniably, but it takes training to let him stay there. The training begins by praying, and a true desire to relinquish my position of control, on my mouth, my deeds, my attitude and my desires. This precious lady did just that and the result was a bonafied joy for life. What a blessing God has given to us who have crossed her path.

Soon she will have the greatest blessing of all and her joy will be complete...she will be home with her Lord and Savior.

1 Peter 1:8
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

Dear Lord, Thank you for those who come into our lives and give us a first hand example of what loving you and seeking you looks like. May we learn from them and embrace their ways of faithful living. Amen
Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!
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