Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is
the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the
nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works. Psalm
73:25-28
The one thing that is
consistent about life is change. I am in a time of life where things are
changing daily. I have friends who have recently lost their spouses and
parents, and friends who have been diagnosed with terminal cancer. My elderly
father has begun to experience frequent medical complications, my children are
completing their college degrees and their lives are changing direction. My
husband and I recently became grandparents for the first time. We are growing
older…
I fear being alone in
my old age. My kids grew up and left or are leaving home. There's no promise my
grandchildren will live close to me or have much relationship with me. There is
no promise my husband will live to a ripe old age either.
Life is fleeting, and
we don't know the length of time we will have with anyone. Life or rather death
interrupts the grand plans we have for the future, and it often arrives at the
most inopportune time.
It is with an open
hand we must hold those we love. We desire to claim ownership of our spouse, our
children and grandchildren. We cannot. We can lay no claim to them as
"ours" because they are only temporary residents in our lives. We
forget this. We forget because we don't want to accept it. We want to say they
belong to us because it gives us some sense of being in control.
We are not.
Hold on loosely to
everything and everyone in this life and cling tightly to God. Our relationship
to Him is the only unchangeable one we will ever have in all of eternity. He is
all we truly need. I know I will have to remind myself of this many times over the coming months and years. You will too...