(It was July 2020 when this entry was originally written. My dear friend had just suffered the unexpected loss of her nephew. With the recent loss and tragedy in my hometown, I thought it appropriate to share these thoughts.)
How did we get here? We have all heard the phrase “I don’t know what the future holds but I know who holds the future”. I was reminded of that phrase this morning as my mind raced and I tried to grasp the irony of “how different a Wednesday can look” from one week to the next.
Last Wednesday, I prepared a meal for friends who comprise a part of our nonprofit group “Anchors of Hope”. We spent a lovely evening on the rooftop of my building. We ate, visited, planned our projects for the upcoming months, watched the colors in the sky change as the sun set, laughed and enjoyed each other’s company…..we had no idea just how different the next Wednesday would be.
This Wednesday, I attended a funeral service for the young nephew of one of those friends who shared our rooftop evening. As I watched my friend, her family and the young students grieve, I couldn’t help but think…..What a difference a week can make…..Who would have thought the next Wednesday would, or even could, be so different…..How does life change so quickly…..
While so much has changed in a week, what remained the same is our group also gathered on this Wednesday as we enveloped our friend, Susan. Our hearts are aching for her family’s loss, but even after this Wednesday, we will continue to embrace our friend with love, we will pray for her family and we will surround her with support. We are, after all, our dear friend’s “pearls”.
All the while my mind turns on “how different a Wednesday can look”. This week has been a reminder that tomorrow is truly not promised to us. We live in a world which holds many uncertainties.
The only true certainty is God’s love and His promises to us. When the world seems to be spinning out of control, when every day brings more changes and challenges, when we are faced with heartache and sorrow, when the future looks so different from what we have previously experienced or so different from what we could have ever imagined…..the only solid ground or certainty is knowing we are cared for and loved by the Almighty. Our Father holds the future, and because of that, we can breathe deep, we can step forward into the unknown and this “new” world, we can face “a different Wednesday” with courage, we can continue on in His embrace.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
