Those who sit under my preaching on a regular basis know that one of my favorite quotes is from Dr. Bill Young, who once famously said: “Life is best lived in chapters!” Even though I have used this phrase many times from the pulpit, the events of the past few days have now given it a whole new meaning in my life.
I spent this last week in Alabama visiting with my mother as she recovers from her recent stroke. While I was there, and in God’s timing, it happened that my uncle, Roy Jackson (about whom my previous post was written), passed away. He was the last of my father’s siblings to die. I thus joined with my family in mourning and paying our final respects to this much loved man, who will be sorely missed.
As I left my mother in the care of my two sisters and made my way back to Tennessee, I thought a lot about the brevity of life. We come into this world, we live our lives, and then we pass on; and it all happens so quickly. It seems like only yesterday that my father, my aunt, and my uncle were all alive and well. And now, suddenly, they are all gone. Their time, at least in this world, is no more.
One can well imagine how heavy my heart was. And yet, it did not stay that way long. For no sooner had I arrived home than my daughter and son-in-law and my eighteen month old grandson arrived from middle Tennessee. Shortly thereafter, my son and his wife and my other his six week old grandson, all recently moved to east Tennessee, also arrived for a visit. Needless to say, our house is hopping! And so is my heart!
For it seems as if I suddenly went from a world of sadness to a world of joy! Every action, every moment, is suddenly filled with activity and the resultant laughter! Little bodies squirm! Little legs kick! Little hands explore! Little mouths squeal! Life literally abounds in every instant!
Add to this the fact that my daughter will be leaving here shortly to go and check on the freshly poured foundation for her new home that is being built just a few miles away, and where they will soon be relocating to from middle Tennessee. Plus the fact that my other son and his wife are also preparing to break ground on their own new home just up the road.
What is more, all of this is unfolding on the same day in which local ball fields are packed with t-ball teams and little league games. Not to mention the fact that seniors are also graduating from local high schools and colleges all around us today! Put simply: everywhere one looks, he or she is reminded that young lives are unfolding with equal amounts of eagerness and excitement!
And the point of all of this is simply that life goes on! While the time for my father, my aunts, and my uncles has now wound down, the time for my children and grandchildren is just now getting started. Certain chapters have come to a conclusion; but others are just now beginning!
For my part, I have been reminded that I can spend my time reading and re-reading previous chapters; or I can now turn the page and look forward to whole new chapters and whole new adventures.
It has been said that the past is a great place to visit; but that one should never choose to live there. I am grateful for a chance to have been reminded of this great truth over the past few days.
And I find myself looking forward now to each new day, knowing that tomorrow holds just as much joy as yesterday, and that each new chapter can and will be just as rewarding as all the ones that came before!
Isaiah the Prophet once spoke on behalf of the Lord and said: "I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?"
I am happy to say that I, for one, have seen it! I have seen this new thing God is doing! And I thank God that life goes on! I thank God that each new day holds the promise of new blessings! I thank God that the book of life abounds with many new and exciting chapters! For from my perspective, even now, the next such chapter is unfolding! May God be praised!
SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/isaiah/43-19.htm.
I spent this last week in Alabama visiting with my mother as she recovers from her recent stroke. While I was there, and in God’s timing, it happened that my uncle, Roy Jackson (about whom my previous post was written), passed away. He was the last of my father’s siblings to die. I thus joined with my family in mourning and paying our final respects to this much loved man, who will be sorely missed.
As I left my mother in the care of my two sisters and made my way back to Tennessee, I thought a lot about the brevity of life. We come into this world, we live our lives, and then we pass on; and it all happens so quickly. It seems like only yesterday that my father, my aunt, and my uncle were all alive and well. And now, suddenly, they are all gone. Their time, at least in this world, is no more.
One can well imagine how heavy my heart was. And yet, it did not stay that way long. For no sooner had I arrived home than my daughter and son-in-law and my eighteen month old grandson arrived from middle Tennessee. Shortly thereafter, my son and his wife and my other his six week old grandson, all recently moved to east Tennessee, also arrived for a visit. Needless to say, our house is hopping! And so is my heart!
For it seems as if I suddenly went from a world of sadness to a world of joy! Every action, every moment, is suddenly filled with activity and the resultant laughter! Little bodies squirm! Little legs kick! Little hands explore! Little mouths squeal! Life literally abounds in every instant!
Add to this the fact that my daughter will be leaving here shortly to go and check on the freshly poured foundation for her new home that is being built just a few miles away, and where they will soon be relocating to from middle Tennessee. Plus the fact that my other son and his wife are also preparing to break ground on their own new home just up the road.
What is more, all of this is unfolding on the same day in which local ball fields are packed with t-ball teams and little league games. Not to mention the fact that seniors are also graduating from local high schools and colleges all around us today! Put simply: everywhere one looks, he or she is reminded that young lives are unfolding with equal amounts of eagerness and excitement!
And the point of all of this is simply that life goes on! While the time for my father, my aunts, and my uncles has now wound down, the time for my children and grandchildren is just now getting started. Certain chapters have come to a conclusion; but others are just now beginning!
For my part, I have been reminded that I can spend my time reading and re-reading previous chapters; or I can now turn the page and look forward to whole new chapters and whole new adventures.
It has been said that the past is a great place to visit; but that one should never choose to live there. I am grateful for a chance to have been reminded of this great truth over the past few days.
And I find myself looking forward now to each new day, knowing that tomorrow holds just as much joy as yesterday, and that each new chapter can and will be just as rewarding as all the ones that came before!
Isaiah the Prophet once spoke on behalf of the Lord and said: "I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?"
I am happy to say that I, for one, have seen it! I have seen this new thing God is doing! And I thank God that life goes on! I thank God that each new day holds the promise of new blessings! I thank God that the book of life abounds with many new and exciting chapters! For from my perspective, even now, the next such chapter is unfolding! May God be praised!
SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/isaiah/43-19.htm.