“You want proof there’s a God? Look outside, watch a sunset.” —Frank E. Peretti

 

This past week, Catherine O’Hara passed away at the young age of seventy-one.  Now, to someone who is younger than fifty, that may not seem ‘young’.  But when one is in their mid-sixties, seventy-one is less than a decade away. That’s a measly seven years away.  And for some reason, that hit me really hard. Now, despite the fact that my father-in-law is ninety-one and doing just peachy doesn’t mean that I will live that long.  For reasons only God knows, He’s blessed that man with a long life.  I’m happy for him and glad he’s still with us.

Having had a heart attack and lived, I treasure my life.  I mean, any one of us could pass away at any time, and we don’t really give it much thought because we’re too busy thinking about the next THING:  maybe it’s moving, or how one is gonna survive the sorrow they feel over a failed marriage, or a baby is on the way, or any number of things that affect us in monumental ways.

Just last night, Jef and I were talking about Victoria Jackson.  In case you don’t know her, she’s a Christian who lives in Hollywood and was on Saturday Night Live years ago.  I wondered if she was still alive and Jef said yes, but the cancer is terminal.  I reminded him that we are all terminal, actually.

Keeping things in perspective helps me.  As dismal as that is, to say that we are all terminal, it’s reality.

Perhaps I’m wandering.

Let me go back to my title.

Just about every day, around 5:45 or so, the sky is a backdrop of brilliant oranges, lemon yellows and pastel pinks. I can’t help but declare, “There she goes.  Silently and yet so boldly saying goodbye, see you tomorrow.”  There’s a constancy to her arrival each morning and her setting each evening that brings me comfort.  It speaks to me of the faithfulness of my God.

So, where am I going?  I have to have a direction I am heading if I’m going to sit here and write, right?

I do; sometimes, it takes me a while to articulate all my thoughts.  There have been a lot of things mulling over and over in my head lately:

• the literal madness in the world that daily bombards my feed on social media
• how that narrative is affecting my relationships with those I love
• the charismatic church cover up that Mike Winger has been exposing and for which I am deeply grateful.
• how to lead with humility
• two books I’ve been reading, “With These Words” by Rob Flood for our small group and “No More Boring Bible Study” by Faith Womack (no relation to Andrew Womack)
• …and at least five hundred other tiny things that, unless it’s something so rote I don’t even think about, take up real estate in my brain and cause me to either worry or pray.

Life is full of so very many ‘things’ to think about, do, juggle, but once the day is over, it’s gone.  No do-overs.

Jesus said it quite succinctly: ‘So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.” 

All we get is today.

There are two truths, possibly more, that keep me grounded each day and that is God’s love and His faithfulness. Without them, I would be lost in the ocean of turmoil and grief.

As to the things I ruminate over:  I cannot do anything about what is going on in Minnesota, nor am I responsible for other’s choices and how they interpret such events.  The world I get to live in is the one I wake up to and interact with.  (Is that a naive mindset? No, it’s the truth. I can pray and trust that He will hear my prayers.)

It is my responsibility to recognize and sit in the reality that Jesus warned me about what the world would be like:  they will hate Christians, persecute and even put some to death because we believe in Jesus. But this world is not my home.

If I follow and fear man, it will be a snare to me. Proverbs 29:25  These two Scriptures have been both an anchor (Matt. 6:34) and a sword (Pro. 29:25) that have caused me to evaluate how I am faring.

After sixty-three and three quarter years, I know my time is limited, and so each and every single day I wake up, it is my job to get to know God better so I can live in such a way that after I’m gone, the truth of my life lives on in those I love and lead.

Maybe seven years is more than enough to nail down how I need to live each day so that I pass on God’s love and remind those I love of His faithfulness.

 

When you watch the sun set tomorrow, wish her a good night and remember God’s faithfulness to you today; it’s the end of one day and tomorrow will bring a new sunrise.