They say there is a Chinese saying that says, “May you live
in interesting times.” Supposedly it is
a curse, but no such
Chinese quote seems to exist.
Yet, we do live in interesting times.
In the middle of a service for a high school classmate who
died earlier this week, I received a text that the brother of one of our elders
had passed. We had prayed for him for
some time and are praying for the family now.
Yesterday on my way back home, I stopped to visit members of
the congregation in 3 different Oklahoma City hospitals. I had been to 2 of them before but only 1 for
visitation purposes. I was born I the
other almost 59 years ago; at least that’s what my birth certificate said. I don’t remember the experience.
I also affirmed that it is good to have a prayer blanket or
two prepositioned in my truck. You can’t
always swing by the office first.
The last hospital on my rounds was to see my mother. She was at a fairly new facility in
Yukon. It was, of course, after visiting
hours. Things usually work out that way.
My mother was to have gone with us for a few days in Branson
but wasn't up to the trip. It seems she
had a couple of ambulance rides in store for her that week instead. One of them she still describes as a taxi
ride. Meds without food make for
revisionist history.
My visit to St. Anthony’s—the hospital where I was born—was a
week too late to have had one last prayer with my class mate, who passed away
on those same grounds this past Monday.
Sometimes life is one of those puzzles where the pieces don’t
always fit where you think they would; yet, we live in interesting times. Were it not for the assurance of our Father’s
love that never ends and his peace that goes beyond understanding, we might
find ourselves trying to make all of the pieces fit together.
The times are interesting.
God’s love is certain.
His peace is essential to seeing us through the day.
May the peace of God that goes beyond our understanding
guard you heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment