Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Be the Way Sunlit or Dark...


I'm blessed to live in rural Kansas. You read that right! I love the ever-changing sky, the shape of the land, and the changing seasons (as the joke goes, we sometimes experience all four seasons in the course of one day). My drive home from town includes a stretch I call "the straightaway," and over the years I've used this one-mile section of road as a place to decompress, pray, inhale deeply, and relax just a bit from the stresses of caregiving.

On my drive home early yesterday afternoon, I was fascinated by changing light patterns caused by gaps in the clouds above. The wind created swiftly moving sunlit patches, always just ahead of me. I wanted badly to drive right into one of those bright places, but I couldn't catch up.

One of these days I will arrive at a sunlit place that is free of the darkness of my mom's Alzheimer's disease. She will be released, and I will be in grief because of the loss of her living presence in my life.  Even now, after these many years of living under the cloud of this wretched disease, I have trouble with the thought of that final release.  But, as Mom has said, "It is sad that we humans so often view death with sadness and dread—the actuality is that it is a blessed doorway into God’s continual presence."  

I'm grateful today for the Lord's abiding presence through every portion of my road home.  

4 comments:

  1. My sister-in-law has recently lost two of her dearest friends on earth. One called a few days before her passing to say goodbye. She said, “I won’t be seeing you again.” Judy said, “Oh, yes, you will!” What a hope we have in Jesus.

    When I think of you, Linda, I think of that expression so often used “the long goodbye.” You have surely been living that out. Somehow my hope is that so much of your grieving has already been done without having yet more. Sometimes, when I feel very blue, I realize all over again where my loved ones are. And what peace and true joy settles on me.

    Now that road looks very like one I traveled in Kansas way back in the early 70s. It was a different kind of beauty for me and I still remember Thanksgiving in Kansas fondly. Stunning graphic!

    Happy Spring🌷

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    1. And a very blessed spring to you, my friend. My sympathy to your sister-in-law along with thanks to her for the blessing I receive from her assertion that her friend will see her again..."Oh yes you will!" On this side of glory we need the encouragement we receive when others affirm the truth of the hope we have in Jesus. Thank you, Vee.

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  2. We are indeed blessed to live in such a beautiful spot of the world. And doublblessed to have the gift of your beautiful mother's wisdom. ❤

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    1. Thank you for commenting, Merry Lu! I wasn't feeling quite so fond of our weather patterns this morning at 3 a.m. when I heard hail falling--I'd left my car outside. John ran out--in the hail--and put it in the garage. I haven't yet worked up courage to check for damage.

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