THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

February 22, 2023

LIFE IN THE FOLD

It was forty-two years ago today that my sweet mama went home to be with Jesus. At that time, I was fifteen years old, and someone in their fifties seemed old to me! Now, I'm fifty-seven years old and don't feel old. It's amazing how forty-two years can go by so very quickly; as well as change your perspective.

I've read various passages of scriptures recently that have made me think of different aspects of Mama's death; as well as my response and these past several years.

Death of a loved one is hard! Even if they were a believer and you have that assurance of them being in heaven, and have that blessed hope and promise of seeing them again, there is still grief and mourning. Our life changes as family members or dear friends leave this life on earth. They begin their eternity and get to see Jesus and see things that we can only imagine. But we are left with a void in our heart, perhaps in our home, that that person once filled. Holidays are different without them here. Questions arise that we wish we could ask them; or wish we had of asked them. We miss our talks with them and the bond that we shared. As time passes, we still miss them, but that hurt heals and the grief and mourning pass.

Sometimes how a person dies is difficult to watch. When sickness and disease ravage a persons body and/or mind, that's hard. But it's also hard when someone passes suddenly, without warning, and there is no time to prepare or say any last words that we might want to say.

I don't understand a lot! I know that scripture clearly states that by the stripes of Jesus that we were healed, and I believe that with all my heart. Jesus healed sickness, disease, handicaps, and rebuked demons while He was on earth. He has given us authority to do the same (that is in the scriptures). But I've seen loved ones suffer from sickness and disease, even while many prayed and believed for their healing, and they died. I struggled with healing and death for a long time.

What I finally concluded is that God's ways are far above mine! As long as I am on this earth, I will believe that Jesus is the Healer, and will continue praying for healing for those who suffer and need healing. I will believe that God hears my prayers and that I will see answers. But I also will choose to hold fast to my faith in God should that person pass away.

A while back I was reading the book of Isaiah and found a scripture that spoke to my heart regarding this topic. Isaiah 57:1-2 says: "Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come. For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die."

Granted, Isaiah is speaking about the circumstances and evil that was happening in the world during the time that he was writing this. There are those who could argue with me that I'm not interpreting this correctly.

But I believe that we can take comfort in these words. The truth is, good people who are godly will die. Some will die seemingly before their time; whether it be a child or youth or a mama who is 48 years old. When they die, they are taken from this earth, and from the evil and wickedness and trouble, that those who are still alive have to deal with. The godly find rest and peace in the presence of God when they die.

Psalms 116:15 says, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful servants."

Our Heavenly Father chose birth and life on earth as our beginning. But His divine plan for us is that when we die, we will be forever at home with Him in heaven. God, as our Father, desires for us to be permanently residing in that place that He has prepared for us to live with Him forever. In order for us to begin eternal life with Him, our human flesh has to die so that He can give us a spiritual body that will live forever.

There is another scripture that has spoken to me recently. In 1 Samuel, the people of Israel were begging for a king, so God finally gave them their hearts desire; even though He knew that wasn't in their best interest. Saul was anointed, by Samuel, to be Israel's first king. He started out really good! But then he began disobeying God's commands and failing to honor God. God became sorry that He had ever allowed Saul to become king.

There finally comes that moment when Saul once again blatantly disobeys God. God gives Samuel a message to deliver to Saul, that was hard. Because Saul had rejected the command of the Lord, God had rejected him as king. This was Samuel's last meeting with Saul (1 Samuel 15:35), but he constantly mourned for him.

Chapter 16 begins by the Lord speaking to Samuel. He says, "You have mourned long enough for Saul." It was time for Samuel to accept that fact and move on. God instructed him to go anoint one of Jesse's sons to be the next king of Israel; which was David. Samuel obeyed and did what God told him to do.

I understand that this is a different context, but I believe that there are times when God tells us, "You've mourned long enough! It's time to get up and move on and do what I instruct you to do." God isn't telling us that mourning is wrong or that we have no right to grieve. But we can't remain in that perpetual state of mourning. We can't make that our permanent residence for the rest of our lives. Our life hasn't ended and God still has plans for us that need to be fulfilled. So we need to put aside our mourning and take those steps of faith towards where God is leading us. We don't forget that person, but we continue living life and finding joy in our days.

I believe that I have lived my life in a manner that would have made Mama proud of me. She would be happy with how her five daughters lives have turned out. It would please her to know that we are all serving the Lord and involved in our different churches. We honor her by being good cooks and doing a great job of caring for our homes and families. We miss Mama and the influence she would have had on our lives, and getting to know her as an adult friend; but there came that day when we had to put our mourning aside and move on to the things that God had planned out for each of our lives.

Mama was a huge influence upon my life in those few short fifteen years that I knew her and had her with me. I pray that I will have that same positive and godly influence upon my family; and that when my time on earth is finished, that they will remember me and how I touched their lives for good.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Our church has a rental house. (It's a long story why; mostly a condition of our mortgage.) Suppose the renters invite some guests over. That is okay. As renters, we have given them that authority that they can invite guests over when they like, as long as they don't violate any zoning laws. Even if their guests are people we (as a church) don't trust, we would allow it. Now, suppose one of those guests talks the renter's kid into climbing a tree and the kid gets hurt. The renters allowed the guests there, and didn't prevent their kid from climbing the tree. We (as a church) allowed the guests to be invited. So ultimately, we all allowed the situation to be created that ended in someone getting hurt.

Now, I know reading Loretta's portion above, some readers are likely to remember several scriptures that say that if anything happens (good or bad), God has allowed it. It is in the Holy Bible, so I believe it is true and I've read enough scriptures like that to know they aren't simply taken out of context.

However, God is the owner and creator of everything. We are much like renters here. He has given us authority to use the land and all its resources, to work (or not) with fellow humans as we see fit. We can invite Him into our lives and our homes. But we also have the authority to invite Satan and his demons here. We don't all allow Satan into our homes, but enough people have invited sin into this world that Satan, sin, and demons have been feeling at-home here ever since Adam and Eve committed the first sin. And they bring with them sickness, death, fear, hatred, laziness, entitlement, and all the evils this world can hold.

God does bring healing, peace, forgiveness, life, and prosperity. Just because I don't see it in action once in a while won't stop me from praying for it. He has more wisdom than I can understand in how he gives those things. When I'm with Him face-to-face, I'm sure I'll understand it.

ON THE MENEWE:

Corn Dip

Mix all ingredients together. Serve with Frito Scoops.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

I have several pictures of my mom. But there are two that stand out in my mind that are favorites. One is of Mama standing at the ironing board, ironing clothes. She never worked outside the home and was always a housewife and mother; and excelled at her calling. She was an excellent cook, grew a garden and canned in the summers, kept a clean house, and took good care of her husband and daughters. That picture, to me, represents Mama. She worked at caring for her family and home, and did it well. She would almost always hum while she was cooking or ironing or working around the house. She always had a song in her heart.

The second picture is one that was taken when I was probably around 4-5 years old. Mama is holding me on her lap and reading me a children's story. I never stayed with a babysitter and always had Mama as my caregiver when I was a child. I always knew that she loved me and that I was cherished and that she had time for me. Even when she was sick from the cancer treatments, I would come home from school and lie down on the bed beside her each day when I got home and we'd talk.

My sisters and I have all talked about this: We each felt like we were Mama's favorite daughter! She made us feel special and unique and loved, and as if we were her favorite! That's a gift!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.

Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. Psalms 5:3

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org