All the Way Home
Home is a sanctuary for me. I wrote about my childhood home a few years ago. My mother taught us how to make our homes a haven of rest and peace. It's a place where I have intentionally made it so. From furniture placement, to lamps, books, and even the pictures on the walls. But the most important and even critical part of the feeling of sanctuary and peace in my home comes from the time spent in prayer. No amount of furnishings, or even cleaning can replace the feeling of walking into a home that has been thoroughly saturated in prayer. Has it always been so? Nope.
But trials and crisis of life made it imperative.
We are at that place in life again. Where prayer and seeking the wisdom of God, spending time in the Word is the only source of strength we know for sure will stand.
It’s hard when you reach the age we are, and realize—what you thought your life would look like at near-retirement age is not the current reality. What are we going to do?
Well, I can’t speak for you—but I can tell you my plan:
Trust God.
I trusted God when our young family experienced job loss in the early 80’s when many oil companies began shutting down.
I trusted God when our marriage was under attack and I felt our lives might fall apart.
I trusted God when our oldest child rebelled and ran away.
I trusted God when my sister died.
I trusted God when we received the cancer diagnosis.
I trusted God when I found myself in a constant state of anxiety.
I trusted God when my husband had health issues.
I trusted God when more than one grandchild made bad decisions that almost cost them their lives.
I trusted God when the hurricane hit and the tornados ripped through our beautiful city and communities.
Throughout my life—I have deliberately chosen to trust God no matter what. When the pantry was fully stocked and when there was very little to choose from.
Our circumstances do not alter the abilities of our God whatsoever.
Our trust IN Him does not change who He is or what He can do. What our trust in Him does—is calm our hearts and give us peace. Without trust—there is no peace.
This thanksgiving and Christmas will look different all over the United States. We will have to choose a thankful heart and mindset.
Those in North Carolina, Tennessee and the areas in north Alabama and Georgia that were hit by Hurricane Helene will still have the same horrific images and realities to deal with. They are all making progress...but they have a long way to go. In our own community we know first hand how long regrouping and recouping can take.
Those who lost everything they had in Wyoming and other areas out west due to the fires will still stare into the bleakness of ashes.
There will still be families who will be hurting from major loss of life and homes. But if we will hold on to trust in God—faith in Christ—believing that He loves us and will work all things for our good—even the ugliest and most painful parts of life—we can still offer thanks—from a heart of genuine gratitude.
It sometimes seems impossible to me. I weep every time I see an interview from the people in the Appalachians. I cry at the devastation that is on a constant real on social media and news outlets. It looks unimaginable and unfathomable.
Most of us have walked through life-changing circumstances before—that on the first side of it looked unsurvivable. But we survived. And God used those circumstances to open our eyes and redirect our hearts so often. He will do it again.
This world is NOT my home. As the old song says, “I’m only passing through. My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me beyond the open door and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.” Author unknown. Copyright Public Domain.
Earlier this week, I met with a sweet woman who lost her husband just weeks ago. Her home is lonely. Her life has changed drastically. But her eyes held such an intense love for Jesus - I knew she would not be "alone". Her Heavenly Father will be her Keeper. He will be her Refuge in times of fear and anxiety. While the sorrow will remain for some time--attached to that same sorrow is hope. A hope and assurance that we will soon all be reunited with our loved ones who have "changed their address" to their Heavenly Home.
We are faced with loss and sorrow every single day. It's the way of the job and it's the way of life. Life for everyone.
When the funeral home family experiences a death--the ministering to other families cannot be put on a back burner. That is the very heart of the call that put them in this job in the first place: ministering to the needs of others.
What we have observed since being there, and having faced loss in our own family, as well as with every other co-worker as they have experienced the loss of a loved one, is we have a clearer insight into what they are experiencing. We each become the "Aaron and Hur" for the one walking with this fresh sorrow.
In pre-planning for one's own death, people begin to think on all the things that will need to be done--and planned out. Specifics become vital.
Today, I have some specific plans of my own...
My game plan? Trust God, all the way home.
Let's talk again soon!
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