(Names are changed for privacy. This is probably the most traditional language I ever use pertaining to salvation... it was per the family's request. I hope that I made it my own and not untrue to my theology.)
Ecclesiastes 3-A Time for Everything
1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him. 15 Whatever is has already been,and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.
John 14 1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going." 5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”
I met Daisy at the beginning of this year. She’d been living at the nursing home for a while already and everyone there loved her. And I could see why. She always had a huge smile for anyone who passed by or helped her with things. I noticed when I sat with her in the dining room, people would stop by or talk to her just to see her smile. She wasn’t able to tell me many stories, though I learned some things through her daughter Josie. So, mostly, I’d sit with her and hold her hand, asking occasional questions or complimenting her on her outfit.
When I sat with her, I contemplated what it must be like to be where she was right at that moment, after 98 years of life. She had worked hard all her life, the first half devoted to the work of keeping a house full of kids and husband clothed, fed, and happy. And now she lived with people who are responsible for keeping her clean, clothed and fed.
It seems her life had many seasons, just as every person’s does. What is the purpose or meaning to these seasons of life and what can we learn from them? Does God have something we are supposed to learn or experience from each of these seasons? I believe God does, but I’m not so sure we always see it.
Many of us will live full lives that, like Daisy, start with being cared for by others and end being cared for by others. In between those times, most of our lives will be focused on caring for others, through work and family. Society teaches us that the most important accomplishments we do will be when we are working and taking care of family… but that makes old age seem like a waste of time and a hardship to endure. What God wants us to remember through this passage in Ecclesiastes is that the being cared for and caring for others are both important. We like to think about the happy times when all decisions are made by us and life goes according to plan. But life doesn’t always go according to plan and I don’t always get to choose how my life goes.
I don’t know about you, but I have an independent streak a mile long. I have been trained since child birth to work towards getting things done and being generous to others in need. But when I’m down and out, it’s hard for me to receive with grace and gratitude the generousness of others. I feel weak, useless and without power. But in those times life seems to have no meaning, when bad things happen to good people, God knows the meaning and purpose of it all. God understands our suffering and our struggle and will help us through it.
The times most people become closer to God is during times of helplessness. When there is no one else to turn to, God is there. And when we live our lives to the fullest, we are living in Christ. So, like Christ, we will be raised and taken care of as a child. As adults, we will care for others, as Jesus showed us in his ministry. And while Jesus never got to be old, he did allow for others to give generously to him, just as Doris had and others will. The woman anointing his feet with oil, Mary and Martha hosting him in their house and feeding him. To receive the gifts of others when we have nothing is a very sacred act that God wants us to do. It is hard, humbling, and not without discomfort. But to do so with a generous and gracious heart is saintly.
So, while I did not get to learn from Daisy’s wisdom on flowers or get to eat her fresh baked bread, I did learn a great deal from her. She received the help and care of the staff at the nursing home with a bright smile and cheerful heart. I watched others brush her hair and wipe her mouth between meals. I pushed her wheelchair on walks and back to her room. Even when breathing was hard work and you could tell she was hurting, she would smile at me and say thank you.
In John 14, through Jesus, God tells us that there is a place waiting for us after this life, if only we were to rely upon the grace of Christ. Once again, even upon death, we must rely upon another to get us where we need to be. To trust so completely on another is hard work and God knows it. In today’s world we are taught to not trust anything we can’t see with our own eyes. But the Holy Spirit can’t be seen and the work of God is only apparent to those who believe. I invite you to place your trust in Jesus. I invite you to put yourself in the care of God and see where your life and your death will take you.
I’m comforted to know that Daisy is a Christian. Through her acts of receiving graciously I experienced the presence of God in her life. And through her baptism, she will continue to be in the presence of our Lord and Savior. Amen.
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