You may have noticed that my weekly blog post did not appear in your incoming e-mail or my Facebook page last week...then again, maybe you didn't even notice. :) That was because we have had a whirlwind 10 days. It began a week ago last Friday, when we we made a very quick but very necessary trip to Pennsylvania for the purpose of visiting my mother-in-law in the hospital and so my husband could meet with the doctors and his siblings. I am sad to report that my mother-in-law's health is rapidly declining. The hospital was unable to help her, so she has been released back to the nursing home into a skilled care unit and is also under the watchful eye of hospice.
We were back at home Sunday for our normal full day of ministry. Monday morning we left for the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship pastor's conference at the WILDS in North Carolina. The beauty, the peacefulness, and the servants hearts of the staff at the Wilds make it one of my favorite places in the whole world. The situation with my mother-in-law and also many situations at the church involving seriously ill people, surgeries, problems, and accidents went with us to the WILDS, but still we enjoyed the refreshing services with great messages and outstanding music, as well as some much-needed alone time together at the lake, Cool Beans coffee shop, and playing mini golf (we had the whole course to ourselves!). I'm sure you are thinking, "much-needed alone time? You are alone together all the time!" Suffice it to say that even though that may be true in theory, when your husband is a pastor you get used to sharing him with everyone. A lot.
Following our brief time at the WILDS we headed to northern Georgia to spend 4 days with my parents. We were blessed not only to be able to enjoy some special time with them and my sister, but to complete many jobs and projects around the house that my parents needed some help with.
The older we get, the more we appreciate our Godly heritage and upbringing. Truly we can both say along with the Psalmist that "the lines have fallen unto me in pleasant places, yea, I have a goodly heritage." (Psalm 16:6)
Also the older we get, obviously the older our parents get. When we left to begin the trip home on Monday morning, my husband and I were talking about how it is getting harder to say our goodbyes to our parents. Eleven years ago, we said good-bye to my father-in-law in the parking lot of a restaurant where we had gone for breakfast at the end of a week's visit, and 2 days later he was in heaven - he died suddenly of a heart attack. While we understand that anything can happen to any of us at any given time, when our parents are at the age they are, it is harder to say those good-byes.
These thoughts all remind me of a couple of wonderful verses: Ephesians 5:15-16 - "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil." "Circumspectly" means with thoughtfulness and great care. To redeem means to make the most of, to buy up. There is a contrast there between foolish and wise people. Foolish people live for the moment and for themselves, without much thought for the future. Wise people are thoughtful and intentional about how they use their time, and make decisions that are important in the long run, always aware that time is a gift given to us by God.
Being busy does not necessarily mean that we are busy doing the right things. I am asking the Lord to help me be more intentional in the way that I use my time and order my priorities, that I might truly walk circumspectly and redeem, or make the most of, the time that God give me.
Until next time,
Kathi
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