It all began by going to see some of our dear friends become the new pastors of a church. They are a young couple just getting started and truly radiant in all aspects of the word. They are beautiful people, inside and out. Excited and enthusiastic about their new roles in the body of Christ, they step out on a journey that holds daring adventures of the bravest kind. They jump wholeheartedly into the vast unknown, clinging for dear life to the Hand of the One who is the only one who can lead them well on this path. God will be faithful and they trust Him. It will be an honor to watch and encourage. Many lives will be changed from their bravery.
And the day continued with the passing of a dear man. My dad was asked to do the eulogy at the funeral. To hear the story about a life well lived held some of the deepest most melodic notes. Knowing that you have walked for more than eighty decades of life and have headed away from this earth, to be with you Heavenly Father, with people eager to speak of the impact that you made for the Lord must be the greatest of all accomplishments. His story left a prayer in my heart that the young men growing up in our house would grow up to be mighty men such as he. But what I gathered, in the harmonies of his life's story, was that he cared more for others than he did himself. He loved life but not too much. He loved the law and the work of justice, but not as much as he loved God and his family. It was an honor to watch and I was encouraged. Many live were changed by his faithfulness.
It all drew to a close with a group of close friends in our living room, studying the Bible. They are warriors in the thick of the battle. They are passionate. They think the journey is taking a long time and that little progress is being made--if they could only see. It is amazing to watch! They are training up their children in the way they should go, although it sometimes feels fruitless and frustrating with little ones. But they are relentless. They are "love with clothes on" going out into high schools as teachers and missionaries reaching teenagers and changing lives. They are Service Men who are willing to lay down their lives to protect our freedom. They are laborers and business men reaching the bruised and wounded at their jobs and showing them the Lord. They are moms doing the nasty jobs of diapers and dishes and all the while rejoicing and honestly sharing with moms who are floundering. They are office workers who bring much more to the office than just papers and demonstrate the love of God to everyone who comes through their door. They are computer experts who use technology to further the Kingdom. They are deliverers who delivers so much more than drinks to lost people everyday-touching the lost and hurting who would never come to a church. They are farmers who are sowing, reaping and harvesting in a lot more ways than just in the fields. They are lovers of the Lord who look for people to encourage everywhere they go. They are workout instructors who not only helping others become healthy outside but inside as well, praying with the people they meet and speaking truth into the darkness. They are students who go to school not only to learn but to reach out to classmates who need encouragement and care. It is a honor to do life with these people. Many lives are changing because of their persistence.
When life is hard and sounds more like the tuning of the instruments before the orchestra begins, it's imperative we remember these beautiful days when the music sounds better than it ever has sounded before. We have to take time, on those hard days to be still a recall the loveliness of beginnings, the peacefulness of endings, and the joy in the middle that life can be. We have to choose to hold onto to those places when the rise and fall of the tempo of life seems incomprehensibly hard. We can not be afraid to jump into the unknown. We must remember to love life, but not too much. And know that we can make a difference wherever we are on the journey!
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