(January 13, 2016)
“Well, today is the day that will change my life forever,”
I thought, as I drove my hubby to Helena to get his test results. I already knew my life will never be the
same. OUR lives would never be the
same. But really…what will change?
Certainly not our love for each other.
Certainly not our trust and faith in the Lord.
Certainly not our love for our children.
Certainly not our participation at church.
Certainly not our part of our church family and the MCS
family.
Certainly not our belief that God’s will is good and
perfect, and that HE is good and perfect and that HE loves us beyond measure.
Certainly not our relationships with family members (if
anything, they will only get better).
The important things in life are not going to change.
What changes?
God doesn’t change – He is the same today, forever and
always. (Hebrews
13:8, Malachi
3:6, Numbers
23:19 , James
1:17 , Hebrews
6:18, Psalm
102:25-27, Isaiah
40:28, Psalm
90:2, Numbers
23:19-20, and others.)
Psalm 136: For His mercy endures forever….one
sentence…repeated 26 times, tells me it is very important. The entire psalm gives thanks to the Lord
God, creator of all, details Israel’s miraculous deliverance (which I can
relate to my personal life), and His great and loving care over us.
2nd Chronicles 7:3 - ‘For He is good, for His
mercy endures forever.” That verse, while found somewhat hidden in what could
be called a history book, reminds us of a reality that can get us through life,
regardless of the circumstances we’re facing. When we remember God is
good and His mercy endures forever, we can face any hardship and any
loss. Remember this today: He is good, and His mercy endures
forever. And we’ll make it
He is
our great, loving and merciful FATHER, and we are His children.
None of this will change!
So…What changes?
Will we face struggles? Surely. Most certainly. Large and small. On a daily basis, many struggles. The realities of living and dying with this
disease are daunting. The immediate
future of our family is shattered. I
already miss my Rob. I would not choose this path. Things are never going to be the same as they
once were. BUT – we are under the
Shepherd’s care. Even when we walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, we can fear NOTHING – no evil, no
illness, no unknown future – nothing.
Why? Because GOD Himself is WITH
us. We are not alone in this dark
valley, for HE is HERE, holding us, leading us, lifting us, carrying us. His peace surrounds us. His peace, and His strength, and His love,
and His mercy, and His people, and the prayers of His people surround us like a
warm, heavy blanket. I feel His very
presence and the weight of everyone’s prayers as I make this drive. (I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me
that our car is glowing.) We know that
His hand is upon us, as we drive past valleys and mountains, cows and deer, elk
and antelope, barns and homesteads, we are at peace. The prayers of our friends, family, church
family, and school family lift us up as we go and pave the road before us. God is here, right now, in the car.
Do I look sadly and longingly at the hills, wishing our
future on this earth could look much like our past has? Of course.
But what kind of future is that?
One that never changes?
Change
can be hard, but change can also be good.
So…what exactly, will be changed “forever” today?
Will the test results change my life for all eternity?
Is this really truly the day that changed my life – our
lives - forever?
Surely
not!
This will change our immediate and temporary (earthly)
future to be sure. This will bring
hardships, and also grace.
But the day that really, truly and honestly changed
my life forever,
for always, and for all of eternity
stretched out before me,
was the day I gave my life to Christ Jesus.
THAT was the day that changed my life FOREVER.
That was the day that changed me from a sinful being with
no future – other than a future of eternal pain and separation from God – to a
child of God and a co-heir with Christ!
Because of that day, I have a glorious forever, to spend with my Savior
and my Christian family for all eternity. That day, I put off the old and became a new creation in Christ Jesus!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he
is a new creation;
old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
~ 2 Corinthians 5:17 ~
This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should
no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk,
in the futility of their mind,having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the
life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness
of their heart; who,
being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all
uncleanness with greediness.
But
you have not so learned Christ, if
indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in
Jesus: that
you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to
God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4: 17-24
And for Rob? The day
that changed his life forever was also the day that he accepted the precious
gift of salvation through Jesus as well.
He knows our daily lives will change, and he will have to let go of so
many things that he loves as this disease progresses, but the important,
eternal changes to his life were made on THAT day.
This day?
This day right here and right now?
This day is but a bump in the road as we journey
through this temporary earthly life.
Rob and I must remember, that we never truly have to say
goodbye, but only, “see you later.” Oh,
I dread those lonely years ahead without him by my side, but, in the grand
scheme of eternity, I pray they will go quickly. And I know, without a doubt, that we will be
okay. That we will have HIS presence,
strength, peace, love, and the prayers of many.
So, on what should be a stressful and tragic drive to the
hospital, I smile at the gorgeous Montana day flying past my car windows and
hold Hubby’s hand while I praise and thank my God and Savior. I thank Him for being the light shining in the
darkness. I thank Him for being the GOOD
Shepherd who goes before us and leads us through this valley and to the
mountain top and banquet on the other side.
I thank Him for His great mercy and love, care and compassion, and His
very presence.
And I know…
…we can always trust an unknown future to a KNOWN God. (Corrie TenBoom)
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