My house is a wreck. Cat fur, dust bunnies, boxes, papers, magazines, shoes, towels, recyclables.... you name it and it is probably on my floor or in a corner. Do I care? Heck, yes. Can I do anything about it right now? Heck no! We just came back from saying Good-bye to a "light" in Rural USA. Carol was a friend and the mother of my boys' good, good friend. It was a hard trip but we wanted to be there and Rev. Hubby officiated her service. We got to see friends but we were also grieving for a loss. One thing about Carol; she loved people and she loved to care for her family. She was a meticulous house cleaner. I think she might cringe to know that I have a sign right by the front door which states that a clean house is a sign of a wasted life. She proved me wrong. She had a very full 55 year old life. She was able to garden and can and share her surplus with others. I received shelled pecans from her and not a small snack size ziploc either. I received a huge gallon size bag full of shelled pecans. I was not the only person to receive them either. I can't imagine how many pecans she shelled!! While undergoing chemo, this "light" missed only 2 days of work. She refused to let cancer get her down. Last Christmas she made a quilt for her brother-in-law, Josh. It was pieced with old t-shirts from her deceased father-in-law/ Josh's father. Can you imagine? Quilting and working at home and office AND going through chemo??? She was amazing. I really have to wonder why child molesters and haters live amongst us yet a beautiful life was taken by a disease that should have a cure by now. It isn't fair. Life is not fair. But God is fair. Only our definition of fair is not God's definition and I have to remember that. The poor will always be with us; the sick will always be with us. What makes the difference is our response. Will I be bitter and say life isn't fair that haters and child molesters live but Carol doesn't? Will I choose to blame God for everything and not take responsibility for myself and care of others?
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
(Micah 6:8)
Do you notice there is a question mark at the end of this passage? Micah is not demanding that people do these things; he is asking "will you?" It is a good reminder that we have a choice. We are not puppets; God has given us free will to choose. I will celebrate a life lost to cancer and pray that a cure is discovered once and for all. I only wish I had a medical mind to discover the cure myself. So I will do what I know how to do...support the cancer society and pray.
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