Around the Bend
It was C.S. Lewis who stated that the sun is always shining somewhere else–around a bend in the road or over the hill. Was he correct, or was this a statement he made out of desperation or unhappiness? Do you agree? Are these your feelings also? There is a spiritual song which states:
I don’t know about tomorrow, I just live from day to day.
I don’t borrow from its sunshine, for the clouds may turn to gray.
I don’t worry ‘ore the future, for I know what Jesus said
And today I’ll walk beside Him, or He knows what is ahead.
Many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand.
But I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand.
But the real truth is that most of us do worry about the future. The world is uncertain, the daily news broadcast often shocks us with increasing amounts of murder and mayhem, earthquakes and volcano eruptions, fires and floods. War can seem eminent, and we wonder how life can just keep on getting more frightening with each passing day. People we care about and love get a diagnosis that dooms them to the grave, and we wonder when our turn will come. Some of us endeavor to eat right, watching each morsel of food we put in our mouths, and still sickness comes. Life is not as we had hoped and planned it would be. How are we to manage these things; how are we to be content today and avoid worrying about the future?
Ten years ago, we had no idea that the end of our work, our God-given mission in life would sneak on us so imperceptibly, ending our ability to keep on, keeping on doing the work that God called us to do. Of course, as the expression states–“hindsight is 20/20”–and we can look back now and see the signs that beyond getting older, our bodies were breaking down.
And so we sit at home rather than traveling, we answer phone calls from folks around the world who are struggling in some way, we write and send out product, and we have a long list of folks we pray for. And even at this, uncomfortable things happen, and as is often the case we can find ourselves in several situations at a time.
I had a small (pencil eraser size) spot on my face that would bleed when I brushed my hair and would not heal up regardless of what I tried. A biopsy later revealed a squamous cell carcinoma that had to be removed immediately; so on to Albuquerque for surgery and an incision across my cheek from eye to ear. Who could predict an allergy to internal stitches and an infection, causing the incision to open, etc, etc. So as I write, a large bandage, tended to by Home Health nurses, covers the right side of my face, and who knows what the scar will look like? In addition I need a knee replacement, but that cannot occur, so a stem cell transplant is in my near future, and my right eye has developed “yag”–a tissue around the implant, and that will need to have a laser treatment to improve my vision. While Ron certainly still has Parkinson’s, he is in better health than me at the moment.
We could not have predicted this and who would have wanted to anyway?
As you know, we used to travel extensively. When my Mom was still alive she prayed and prayed for us, whether we were in a plane, a car, or our bus. She used to pray that God would hold up the wings of the plane and that the angels would drive our vehicle. AND, she was convinced that her prayers kept us alive. As I think back, I am convinced that her prayers played a major part in our safety.
There is no way that we can know what is truly around the bend in the road. We can live in fear or we can trust that God’s will shall be done in our lives, and that our deaths ,premature though they may be, will only be accompanied by God’s permission. Can you comprehend the kind of peace that this belief offers? A fear of death is worthless. Of course that doesn’t mean that we should put ourselves in harm’s way; just that we should trust Him all the way!
When the diagnosis of cancer in that little spot on my face was given to me, did I cry about it? YES! After the surgery when the infection kicked in and the incision opened, I cried every time I changed the dressing! WHY? Well, one reason was because of physical pain, and the other was borrowing trouble from the future–the fear of impending disfigurement. How will I be able to do that video series I was planning with a huge scar on my face? But in prayer and through His promises, I finally have come to peace about it. Scar or no scar, I can still do the shoots, just by turning that side of my face slightly away from the camera.
Peacefulness has brought me the assurance that God holds my hand, controls my future and can even direct a camera! Tomorrow has enough trouble of its own. Live in God’s loving arms today, and let the Lord be in charge of tomorrow and beyond!
