It’s My Turn Now

Do you ever read the newspaper or watch news events on TV and say silently to yourself, “That’s so sad, but I’m glad that’s not me.”

We all seem to look at our lives every day like they should be filled with normal events on a continuum cascading one into another. One day looks like the next, and the next, and so on. Well, God’s plan for our lives doesn’t have any resemblance to what we believe is normal.

In James 1:2-4, and again in 1 Peter 4:12-13, we’re told that we will suffer as believers. That doesn’t sound like a “normal” life to me! I don’t want to suffer, do you? Although looking at the disciples’ lives, you can see their suffering as plain as day. John was beheaded, Paul was stoned, and Peter was imprisoned. That’s definitely suffering!

In God’s master plan for each of us there is a plan for reliance on Him—and that involves suffering of some sort. Currently for me it’s watching the aging process suck the life out of my parents. At 86 and 87 their minds are losing control of thoughts and they have faltering steps that lead to falls. I’ve seen their weight shift from working hard muscles to the transparent skin and fragile bones of the aged. It’s a pitiful thing to watch those you love go through this portal of time. I suffer along with them in their loss of ability. Soon, they will lose their freedom to pick up and go whenever they want when their keys are taken away.

Decades of hard work and providing for their family are about to come to an end as hospital visits increase their suffering. Oh, how my selfish heart longs for this to be someone else’s parents, not mine. I pray fervently, Dear Jesus, take the pain away from their fragile bodies and bring back the smiles from their youth once again even though I know this prayer is futile.

But through this process and into my own later life experiences I need to remember it’s all part of God’s Master plan for me. Reliance upon Him. Dependence upon others. Oh, BOO! I don’t like that part!