REMEMBERING SANDRA

I never dreamed when we started this trip that I would loose a dear friend. The suddenness of it has shocked me. Sandra was going through a lot ... a whole lot. She had received treatment for cancer but it was thought to be completely eradicated and she should have gained strength every day but that wasn't happening. Since she had other serious medical issues that wasn't too surprising but I was convinced with time and correction of the problems we'd soon have our old Sandra back. Even the last time I talked to her only a few days before her death she was looking forward... hopefully... to going on a motor home trip with a friend. 


The news that she was dying was heavy on my heart and I still held out hope that she would somehow rally and begin to mend. But she didn't. 


All this has caused me to consider the temporary nature of our lives. Have you ever considered how temporary your life is? Everything about it underscores that nothing lasts. If you are like me you have this sort of sense that what is happening now will always be. Of course rationally we couldn't be more deceived .... it is just the opposite! When I was a kid I thought I'd always be a kid. When I had my own kids I felt that they would always be kids. Now they have their own kids. No one and nothing stays the same. EVERYTHING is temporary right down to this very moment. Nothing lasts. The wonderful trip we are on right now totally underscores that. We spent weeks planning this trip and those weeks are long past. The trip has been wonderful... really exceeding our greatest plans and expectations... but it is nearly over... now looking back one memorable day runs into the next.... all the days are behind us just like every day of our lives... EVERYTHING IS TEMPORARY. 


The temporary nature of our lives can be quite disturbing. But I am convinced in my pondering of this whole thing that God sees it quite differently. In fact, God has deliberately revealed to us and impressed upon us the temporary nature of our lives. He has told us this in His Word to us... our life is like a breath of wind... gone as quickly as it came. I think... God wants us to be impressed with the temporary... not try to ignore it as we do. God wants us to sit up and take notice that what is here today is gone tomorrow. This fact should drive us to seek understanding. 


Sandra is now living beyond the temporary. Sandra is now in the eternal. What comes and goes and is forever lost is no longer Sandra's reality. What we long for ... to actually HAVE forever that which is good, Sandra now HAS. She has forever what we long to hang on to. Sandra was a very bright person and she probably grasped this far earlier than I have. 


Sandra is no longer with us... we can't see her smile or hear her laugh. But this too is temporary. God was very gracious to Sandra as she was headed for more and more medical problems which she hated to deal with. She had had it with doctors, hospitals, and all that entailed. Had the Lord not taken her to be with Him she would be in for a lot of anguish. We can be happy for her that she has left this temporary life and is now able to enjoy eternally the rewards of her faith.