“The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me; Your [unwavering] lovingkindness, O Lord, endures forever— Do not abandon the works of Your own hands.”
Psalm 138:8 AMP
Embrace the Within.
Today’s blog comes from Halfway. I came up to the land of my birth yesterday to visit my folks while my eldest daughter attended a Korean pop concert with my brother as a present for her graduation from high school. While she was away, I went back to the house where I spent nearly two decades of my life and sat and shared the company of my parents.
Things are never the same when you return to your old home or when you return to your family. Time apart changes all things. The struggles that I face growing older I see in them as they grow older as well. It makes me sad to see folks that were so full of energy, so witty and clever, so full of hope and faith, ravaged by the passing of time. And it makes me consider my own future and my own mortality. BUT I am also heartened to see the optimism and the unwavering love between them no matter the obstacles, the challenges, and the struggles. And I hope for that in not only my relationships BUT in all our relationships. That, as the psalmist wrote, “The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me”, rather than worrying about what does not concern me or that which I cannot influence.
There are many things we selfishly and unselfishly want to accomplish with our lives. We think about tangible and intangible treasures that will make our lives more comfortable for a time. BUT time, circumstance, and change can take all those things away. Bad timing, bad people, bad ideas, bad policy, bad laws, and many other bad things can take all those treasures away from us BUT what they cannot take away is our love. The fruits of the Spirit are things that time, people, ideas, policy, law, and not even evil spirits can take away. They are the gifts that we have to see that even though things on this planet change, even though time ravages us all, even though the march ahead leads us to another mysterious and sometimes scary and fearful future, we need not fear because the love of the Lord “endures forever”.
And I know I could always use a little more of that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Maybe we could all use a lot more of those things and a lot less worry and fear and anger.
Bless your heart, mind, and spirit. Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.