November 27th, 2007
Flowers Fade
“The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”
Isaiah 40:8
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! I know I’m a few days late, but I do hope you all had moments of peace, joy and thankfulness during the last week. We went with some other family members out to Indiana to visit my mother’s extended family. Boy was it extended – there were people there that I had never met! It was wonderful to see my grandmother, some aunts and uncles, a few cousins and their families. I was thankful to be able to have my children meet some of the family and reconnect with others. It surprised me to find some of them looking older (I am SURE they thought I still look very young!!). When I am with extended family it makes me realize how short life is, and it clarifies for me what the fundamental issues of life are.
Life is short. As I watch family members age it reminds me that at one point they were in my age. They could not have predicted what their lives would hold for them, the sickness and physical and mental limitations. We all age. In fact, the Bible makes it very clear to be careful what you cling to as you progress on this journey of life because most of what we think of as important won’t last.
The verse I read yesterday in Isaiah sums it up so well. “The grass withers” – even the most fundamental things of life (food, job,our memory) cannot be depended on. “The flowers fade” – any earthly thing that we find joy in (music, people, gardens) will not last. “But the word of our God stands forever.” Life is short, but God’s word is not. God, the infinite, loving, powerful God lives forever. He loves forever. He rules forever. That is the fundamental belief in life.
As I look around at my family and at others in our world, I see some people who seem to be walking with no hope. They are engulfed in the pursuit of things that they think will make them happy: alcohol, relationships, music, entertainment, even being nice, kind people. However, at the end of life, we all must reconsider what we lived our lives for. Until any of us realize that the reason for our existence is for God, we will never find lasting joy in any area of life.
When I was in high school our family brought one of dad’s patients to church. For Christmas one year she gave our family a plaque with this verse from Isaiah on it. When she died, I was asked to speak at her memorial service, and I remember struggling with what to say about this woman who didn’t seem to have any family, of whom I knew very little except that, to a high schooler, it didn’t seem like her life held much lasting value. As I thought about it, I realized this verse was the answer. She had found her hope, her reason for existence in the fact that God exists, that he had made her and loves her.
This thanksgiving I listed many things I am thankful for: my husband, my children, my parents and siblings (and their families), my home, my church, my friends, electricity, dishwashers, chocolate, music, the computer, fingers, coats…However, we need to realize that none of those things will stay with me here on earth; they will all fade. However, God will not. That is a real reason to be thankful!