Spilled Milk

My shaky, nervy hands betrayed me this morning. They lost their grip on a bowl I was carrying to the couch. It was filled with a Keto cereal and ultra processed milk, both a concession to my age and my pursuit of a healthier lifestyle. The release of the bowl was inevitable since in past two weeks my hands have become twitchy, strong and solid at times but also filled with an unseen alternating current of electricity that I cannot control. I am once again struggling with lower back issues which are impacting my right leg and hip. I am not sure if the onset of my hand shaking is tied to this new round of back problems but somehow, they have their genesis at the same time. 

I look at my hands freckled with brown liver spots and wrinkled contours, and wonder if the slippage this morning is foreshadowing of things to come or if it is a one off, a reminder that mortality means a slow degradation of one’s self. I can truly sense my mental deterioration: leaving my cell phone in the golf cart, forgetting name, dates, places, what I went into the room for, my mind distracted by an object that conjures up an additional undone task. My body is yielding to time but my hands had remained secure until recent days. I can see them visibly waver, dancing to an unheard tune, moving without guidance from my brain. 

As I swept up the remnants of the cracked bowl, cereal and milk, I wondered how many more times will I have to clean up a mess I have made due to an unreliable grip. A simple motor skill is becoming a task that requires my full attention. As I draw closer to Life’s finish line, I will no longer take for granted simple daily mundane tasks. As I regress, I become more infantile, while life ushers me backwards to what I once was, however robbed of the innocence that marked me as a child. Throughout this process of living, I remain tethered to the Truth and Hope of salvation by way of faith in Christ Jesus. As my body fails, my faith in Jesus increases since my own ability is diminished. I reside in skin, that is easily bruised and torn, which houses my eternal spirit. Linked to Christ by faith, my spirit longs for heaven and the unending joy and worship I will be able to participate in my new, whole body, made in the likeness of Christ.

     

Day 3: Lent 2024

God, I know that you are real. The heavens and earth declare Your handiwork the Bible says, and they do. However, I also sense Your reality deep within my soul. There is a longing, a desire to know You even more but also a healthy fear of Your Holiness and overwhelming greatness. Help me to stop each day and rest in communion with You. Encourage me to seek You more in each passing moment of my fleeting life. As the Scriptures say, help me to make my thoughts captive towards You. As I grow old, the battle with sin and self remains constant but the coming journey to the place prepared for me becomes closer and clearer. I long for the day when my faith shall be made sight and I will be able to worship You in my new perfect body. Thank You Jesus for the way You made through the cross and the empty tomb. Continue to help me on the journey, God for You know my need for You better than I know myself. All this I pray in Jesus’s name.

CHRISTMAS IS FOR OLDER FOLKS TOO!

SCRIPTURE READING: LUKE 2 V. 25-38

          SIMEON AND ANNA WEREN’T IN BETHELEHEM WHEN CHRIST WAS BORN. THEY DIDN’T SEE THE ANGELS FILL THE SKIES OR WATCH THE SHEPARDS RUN TO SEE THE BABY. THE MANAGER WASN’T A PART OF THEIR FAITH WALK. THEY WERE JUST FIXTURES IN THE TEMPLE, WAITING FOR THE FULFILLMENT OF GOD’S PROMISE TO EACH OF THEM; TO SEE THE MESSIAH. LUKE CALLED SIMEON RIGHTEOUS AND DEVOUT. ANNA WAS DESCRIBED AS “WORSHIPING NIGHT AND DAY, FASTING AND PRAYING”. THESE TWO WERE SAINTS, PEOPLE THAT NEVER FORGOT THEIR FIRST LOVE, WHO CONVICTED OTHERS BY THEIR LIFESTYLE AND BEHAVIOR. IT WASN’T A PRIEST OR ELDER THAT BORE WITNESS TO THE BABY MESSIAH, IT WAS FAITHFUL WORSHIPPERS THAT FELT THE BLESSING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT’S MOVING IN THEIR SOULS. WHAT A JOY IT MUST HAVE BEEN TO CRADLE THE BABY JESUS IN HIS ARMS FOR SIMEON! NOT ONLY WAS THIS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE SCRIPTURES, BUT IT WAS THE COMPLETION OF THE PROMISE MADE TO SIMEON BY GOD. AS WE LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY AND DEVOUTED TO CHRIST, WE THAT ARE OLDER, HAVE SEEN GOD’S PLAN WORKED OUT IN OUR LIVES AND THE LIVES OF OUR LOVED ONES. NO, IT DIDN’T ALWAYS WORK OUT THE WAY, WE WANTED IT TO, BUT HIS PLANS HELD TWISTS AND SURPRISES THAT WE COULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED. ANNA DEMONSTRATES HOW WE SHOULD REACT SINCE WE ALL HAVE SEEN AND KNOW THE SAVIOR, BY FIRST GIVING THANKS. AFTER THANKING GOD FOR HIS SAVING GRACE, SHE SPOKE TO ALL WHO WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE REDEMPTION OF JERUSALEM. I SUSPECT THAT MEANT SHE SPOKE TO EVERYONE ABOUT HER ENCOUNTER WITH CHRIST. GOD DOESN’T NEED US TO DETERMINE IF PEOPLE ARE REDEEMABLE, HE JUST WANTS TO USE US TO TELL THE STORY, HIS STORY, THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL

          YES, CHRISTMAS IS FOR CHILDREN. SANTA, TOYS, BIG MEALS AND GATHERINGS ARE ALL A PART OF THIS SEASON. HOWEVER, SO IS DEVOTION TO THE CHRIST CHILD AND THE RISEN SAVIOR. OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS NEEDS TO BE ON DISPLAY, NOT FOR OUR SAKE BUT FOR HIS. OUR CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN, LOVED ONES, NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS MUST SEE CHRISTMAS THROUGH THE LENS OF OUR LIVES. LIVES THAT ARE NOT PERFECT BUT FORGIVEN. LIVES FILLED WITH LOVE, PEACE AND FORGIVENESS. WE, THAT HAVE BEEN GRANTED LONGER LIVES, HAVE BEEN GIVEN SO MUCH GRACE AND FAVOR OVER THE YEARS. AS WE CONTINUE IN THIS SEASON OF HOPE AND EXPECTANCY MAY WE OFFER TRUE AND ETERNAL HOPE. AND MAY OUR LIVES POINT TOWARD HIS RETURN AND THE FULLFILLMENT OF HIS PROMISE TO EACH OF US.