Given New Life

TODAY:
Share this poem by Art Murray:
Be grateful now for little things.
The flowers, a tree, a bird that sings.
For friends and loved ones far and near
For health, for strength, for all held dear.
And thank the Lord, to whom we pray,
Whose love goes with us every day.
Just try your best in all you do
And the best in turn comes back to you.
Be grateful, thankful, loving, kind
And joy in living each day you’ll find.
Whate’er you do, wherever you go,
Trust in the Lord. He loves you so.

It is late in the afternoon on Good Friday, April 2, 1999. I’m sitting in a pew trying to meditate on the last seven sayings of Jesus, but not succeeding. My mind is full of the stress and problems that began in January with my husband’s diagnosis of cancer and subsequent treatments. While I know intellectually that God has helped me through these difficult months and provided me with a wonderfully supportive church family, I’m feeling alone and scared about the future.

In a desperate attempt to salvage this “holy time,” I lay the sayings paper aside and ask God to show me on a personal level the meaning of Jesus’ death. There’s an old saying: “Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.”
Easter comes and goes with no revelation. Then on April 26, I get the news that I have cancer too! In facing — emotionally, not intellectually — my OWN mortality, I find God helping me to understand more about Jesus’ suffering, death and the good news of His resurrection. I have been given new life, but it is still only for a limited time. That is hard for me to remember each and every day, as I am a planner and list-maker who doesn’t accept change easily.

I’ve discovered that God’s plan for my day doesn’t usually match my own. That makes change a constant threat and creates a tension of God’s will versus mine. The challenge now is to submit, live faithfully and show by my actions how God’s revelations have changed my perspective.

— Barbara Carter