A few days ago I saw a Facebook friend, who said to me, “Anita, you really know how to live. It’s good…‘cause most moms are so tied up with kids and work or housework and everything else, they have no lives of their own.”
I immediately felt guilty, or ashamed.
Shoot. Am I one of those people? Do I make my life look easy, happy and fun? Or worse — make others feel their lives are so not?
If so, I must confess – It’s A Lie.
I’m just guilty of selectively posting the “best of” takes and capturing quickly fleeting treasured moments on camera. And I post often to simplify. How so? I’m not organized or creative enough to create pretty scrapbooks for my family, so I cheat and order “My Social Book” albums to make memory books from my Facebook posts for me.
Today I turned yet another year older. And I had big plans, BIG PLANS, for the day:
(1) get a quick ‘n cheap massage…‘cause my aging back is so achy,
(2) order daily wear contacts…’cause my aging eyes are so dry,
(3) get a nap in…’cause this aging body is D.R.A.G.G.I.N.G.,
(4) read and write…’cause this aging extrovert is turning introvert, and
(5) I forget…’cause this aging mind just isn’t the same.
Of that list – well, I’m getting this writing done.
After a certain age, it’s not as fun to age. But I’m humbled to see that getting to age is a blessing. It’s hard to embrace the physical signs of aging, and yet my first thought most mornings is “Thank You for this day. Thank You for giving me breath and life today.”
Last week, I lost yet another beautiful, godly, joy-spreading friend to cancer. She was an amazing wife and mom to three, a cheerful, loving friend to all she met, a faithful and fearless Christian who encouraged others and built their faith up, even as she suffered the worst of cancer’s many trials. I hadn’t kept in touch with her much since high school but I know she lived life fully. How? She loved well. Why? She knew She Knew SHE KNEW God’s immeasurable and unending love for her, and she held onto it for dear life…to her dying day. It was always enough. More than enough. I want to live like that too. So that whenever my time comes, it will surely have been enough.
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)
In the midst of our mourning, we rejoice because our dear friend has received the crown of life. No more pain, no more sorrow, no more sickness, no more death. And we look forward to seeing her again, and next time in perfect health and joy.
So the truth is…every day, every ache, and every bit of deterioration of our eyesight, hearing, memory or sanity is really a gift.
It means we’re still alive.
It means the Creator of the universe has good reason for keeping us here another day.
It means He wants to show us something or, maybe through us, to show someone else something – all for His good glory.
It means that if we’re each made “in His image” and still walking this earth – He wants us to know Him truly and deeply, and reflect even just a glimpse of His love and and goodness in this dark, ugly world.
And when it’s all said and done, He’s given us a way, the only way, back home to Him, so He can say, “Well done. Well lived. Now enter life unending and rejoice without end.”
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