Sad, Gloomy Day

It is a gloomy day here.  The rain is softly trickling down, the sky is grey, and the wind is rustling the trees.  Just as the clouds hang heavy in the sky, so my heart hangs heavy in my chest. This morning I read a sorrowful message from my sister. She just found out that one of her childhood friends was diagnosed with cancer. This boy is only 23 years old, he is a father, a husband, a son.  So much life, and yet he must now cling to it by a thread as the cancer eats away.  What a tragedy. How do you even begin to pray in a situtation like this? I barely know him, how will my prayers be effective?  And yet in these moments I feel so close. II pray for healing, for comfort, for financial security, for his family. What more can I do, but trust that God knows and can work in any circumstance? My hope is that through all of this God will be glorified. My hope is that somehow he will know how loved he is, and that people are lifting him up to the Great Physician. How tragic that everyday people die without the peace of Jesus.

Today this got me thinking about how short life is. He is an example that no one is immune to sickness and death. Age doesn't matter, social status doesn't matter, your role doesn't matter, eventually we will all perish. This is very serious business.  My soul is desperately distraught for so many who  need to know the love of Christ. We have but a short time on this earth, and we need to make the most of it. Not by bungee jumping, or traveling across the world, or fulling crazy dreams, (those are all well and good) but by being the hands and feet of Christ. We need to be ready for that day when He calls us home.  We need to know that our home is secure in Him.  I so fear for my generation, and for so many countless others.

Matthew 24:44 ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Whether Christ returns while we are still living, or whether we meet him with our dying breath, we cannot predict this encounter. Therefore, it is so important that we are ready, that our friends are ready, that our family is ready, that our coworkers, and aquaintances are ready!

This is a gloomy day. The rain still softly trickles down, the sky still grey, and the wind continues rustling the trees. And though my heart is troubled, I find something so beautiful, something so calming in the hush of this storm.  My soul is at rest for I know my Creator. He has called me by name. I am His. Whether I breath my last tomorrow or I meet Him in His glorious return, I rest assured that through the rain comes life, and I have that life abundantly. I pray that I will never forget to share that life, and that you too will live that life so free.

Love.