Every moment….a baby takes his or her first breath. Every moment someone else breathes his or her final breath. Every moment someone is faced with the celebration of a new life…or the heartache of a life lost.
Life is full of moments. Joyous moments, painful moments, moments of growth, moments of sorrow, moments of excitement, moments of anticipation, sad moments, moments of wonder, moments of laughter, moments of surprise, moments of learning, moments of anger, moments of forgiveness, moments of reconciliation, moments of dreaming….
None of us know how many of these moments we will be given by our Father. Nor do we know in what order or frequency.
But we must remind ourselves…these moments are a gift. A gift from God.
Our daughter is soon to be born. Right now, she and I share many moments together, with her safe in my womb. In a couple weeks, she will most likely be delivered from me and open her mouth to take her first breath in life...certain to be a memorable moment in my life. And a significant moment in hers. Although her movements within feel so strong and powerful, I know how fragile she really is. I know she will rely upon Ben and me to provide her with nourishment, warmth, cleanliness, love, protection, safety. I know how quickly her life could end…she is fragile. And while Ben and I can do all we can to love her and protect her, meet her needs…I know she is not ours. God has entrusted us as her earthly parents…she belongs to Him. He alone knows her every moment.
Ben’s Grandma Esther was placed on hospice this past Friday. She has battled cancer for quite some time and after a bad fall this past December and a few major surgeries since then, her body is simply broken. Grandma Esther loves life, loves her family, loves the moments she has been and is being given. I feel so blessed to have shared some of these moments with her. We share a passion for reading, especially historical fiction. It’s been fun to share books over the years. And I know we have each experienced moments of falling asleep in a comfy chair…in the midst of one of these good books. All of Grandma Esther’s children and grand children have enjoyed moments savoring Grandma Esther’s special chocolate sauce- even me in my chocolate loving days! And of course we’ve enjoyed many moments of her hospitality and conversation around her kitchen table. These are just a few of the moments I have shared with Grandma Esther. There are many more… each a blessing, each cherished.
For as long as I have known Grandma Esther, I have known her to be a strong and witty woman. She is not one to be overrun or pushed around. But as I am being reminded…life is more fragile than we know. And although I would never even think to use the word “fragile” to describe Grandma Esther, I know that is exactly the word that best describes each and every one of us.
All too often we walk through life thinking we have some sort of control or power over our life. We think we determine our own steps. We try our hardest to look like we have it together, we know what we are doing…thinking we are anything but fragile.
And yet how many times have we sat alone in our room or our car or anywhere really and simply felt broken? And dare I say it…fragile. I know I have felt fragile on more than one occasion. I also know I must acknowledge the fact I will feel fragile throughout many more moments in my life..this life I’ve been given.
It’s important to also realize that it’s okay to be fragile. If we weren’t fragile, how could we ever know the strength of our Lord and Savior? How could we ever be filled with His love and power? How would we ever experience Him as we are supposed to?
The Bible is saturated with references to our fragility and His strength. Reminders that the moments we so dearly cherish are truly gifts from His Hand…
He is the Potter…we are the clay. “But now, O Lord, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our Potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand.” Isaiah 64 vs. 8. Clay is soft, fragile. It needs to be molded or else it never takes the shape it is destined to be. Only God can be the Potter we need to form us into that beautiful mold.
He is the Shepherd…we are His sheep. “As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.” Ezekiel 34 vs. 12 and again, “I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” John 10 vs. 11. Sheep depend upon their shepherd…and just like sheep, we all have moments where we go astray and feel lost, alone. We need God to shepherd us and show us the way. Or else we are indeed, forever lost.
He is our Father…we are His children. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1 vs. 3-4. Children seek out their parents for comfort in times of weakness….and times where they are all too aware of their fragility. We need to be fragile so we seek out our Father for this comfort.
These are just a few of the ways we can experience Jesus in our life…in each moment of our life. But unless we are aware of our fragility, our true human state, we will never know the truth and fulfillment that can only be found in Him. And we will never experience the gift of every moment as completely as we can.
3 comments:
All so true. True to Gram's personality and habits, I am glad she was able to make the decision for herself. In many ways, a blessing.
really good stuff. it's only in our weakness that His strength is perfected and He is fully glorified in us.
Nick- I agree she was able to make the decision herself. I've been and continue to pray that she will just experience much joy, happiness, peace and love over her final days.
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