At the risk of overstating the obvious, I have been conspicuously absent for the last couple of weeks. Our family has been through the mill this Christmas, with more joys and sorrows flying through our home in this small space of time than we normally deal with over the course of a year.We have hosted our extended family for Christmas, taken care of an aging Grandmother, invited an extra teenager into our home (she returned to her home on Saturday), added a couple of church-related tasks to our agenda, worried over and prayed for a missing girl who was found (praise God!) and shuttled the previously-mentioned Grandmother back and forth multiple times, one hour away, for the last week, to visit her dying daughter, my husband’s sister. In addition, we took the kids and a couple of their friends to Knott’s Berry Farm and drove in what seemed like a blizzard through a mountain pass to get home from said trip to KBF. Of course, this is in addition to all the shopping, cleaning, cooking, baking and other running around the Christmas/New Year season normally brings into our lives. This entire surreal set of events was capped off yesterday in the most bittersweet way; my son celebrated his 13th birthday and my sister-in-law entered the gates of Heaven.
We are all a bit shell-shocked, especially my son. To begin your teenage years with such a loss stirred into the pot of what should be a landmark experience makes for a melancholy celebration stew. I would have given anything for these events to have happened on different days; I even prayed, begging God to do just that. But, for reasons only He understands, it happened on the day and in the way He desired.
I am reminded of the passage in Deuteronomy where God shares his desire to bless the children of Israel, if they would just follow His commands.
“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!”
What I find so interesting in this passage is the Hebrew word translated “life” in the last sentence is the word chay, pronounced “khah’-ee,” which means, lively, active, alive. The Hebrew word translated “live” in that same passage, however, has a different connotation. It is the word chayah, pronounced “khaw-yaw’.” This word is a bit more difficult to translate into just a few words. From what I can tell through my research, it is a word that indicates an action, process or condition which is incomplete. It is the act of living an exciting life!
So here’s Deuteronomy 30:19, Suzanne’s Abridged Version:
At this moment, you have a choice to make. You can either embrace your life and actively live it or passively let life pass you by. Although your body will one day die your spirit never will. You are mine and you have an opportunity to begin to live that eternally abundant life with me right now! I want you to choose to live the life I have gifted to you because, if you do, you will be continuously blessed by experiencing the fullness of this life until you experience the ultimate life with me in eternity. Then, not only will you receive all the blessings I have planned for you on earth, but you will also set an excellent example for your children to live the same way!
In the course of our lives, pain and pleasure often arrive in tandem. I’m not sure why, but that seems to be the reality we must accept. So, I am faced with a choice of how to view the past few weeks. I can lie down and “die,” at least temporarily, or I can choose to accept the bad with the good and celebrate the beauty that surrounds me every day. Yes, we have suffered loss, but we have also experienced laughter, hugs, kisses and some really good cake, if I do say so myself. Besides, what my sister-in-law is enjoying right now in heaven trumps even my marbled triple-layer cake with whipped cream icing. She is finally free from pain and the limitations her earthly body had placed upon her. She left this life with a missing leg, constant pain and no sight. Today she is dancing with Jesus and beholding the beauty of His wonderful face!
I choose life and the fullness God offers to me through living it. I take the bad with the good. Bring it on, Lord!
3 comments:
What a time you all have had, Suzanne! It has indeed been a whirlwind for you and your family over the last few weeks. God's timing is puzzling at times, but how awesome is He to give you the grace to deal with it all?! What a great bit of scripture to help you put it all in perspective...and a great post, too!
Lifting you in prayer as always,
~Cynthia
Hey Suzanne,
We have all been praying for you and your family as you grieve this latest loss. It sure does seem your family has had more than their fair share of ups and downs lately.
Your godly attitude is inspiring.
I know S. would probably have a hard time seeing the bitter-sweetness of his aunts death falling on his birthday but it is truly a blessing that R. got to spend S. birthday celebrating with the One who created S. I imagine it was a party like no other in heaven!
All our love and prayers,
Kathy and family
Thank you for your love and prayers, ladies. Every day is better than the day before, praise God! He's getting us through.
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