Nothing like a first birthday
This week we received news of the loss of a dear friend’s father and celebrated the one year birthday of our precious little granddaughter Lena. I kept thinking about Ecclesiastes 3, “There is a time for everything…a time to be born and a time to die…a time to mourn and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4, NIV). Ecclesiastes highlights that the roller coaster of life happens to all of us. You can live the most perfect life and still undergo hardships. You can live a life of sin and still be loved. Life happens to everyone. There is birth and there is death, there is joy and there is sorrow. In living, you cannot control what you will encounter or when you will encounter it. It is for us to live in it and continue to trust in God and pursue Him in our everlasting peace. This week, I mourned with my dear friend while I reminded him of the gift of sharing a life well lived and being able to share in lasting memories that will never fade. This week, our family celebrated the precious miracle of a life beginning as we watched the pure joy cross little Lena’s face as all eyes were on her to celebrate her special day, hear her laughter, and watch her run from one gift to another overjoyed with the outpouring of love. Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time for everything, and that not one thing will ever consume all of our time. A time of mourning will pass, a time to dance may be followed by sadness. What a great gift we have in living and in experiencing all that life has to offer.
I remember someone telling me that it was better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. It would be so much easier to shut out the world, to refuse to get close to anyone and to keep walls up where no one can penetrate the exterior barriers we build to protect ourselves. We would never feel pain or loss, but oh, the things we would lose. We would never feel the joy of a sweet one year old raising her arms waiting to be held. We would never feel the comfort in having arms wrap around you in just the right moment to let you know all is well. We would never feel the all consuming love for another human being when every thought is occupied by them. We would never feel the temptation in that first bite of a pint of your favorite ice cream and the regret as you reach the bottom in one sitting! I think I will choose to live fully and love greatly than to shut myself out to protect myself from loss or hurt.
Life is a gift, all of it. Not just the easy parts, not just the good parts. The feeling of loss comes from knowing great love. That is a gift. So, this week, I am going to hug my kids a little tighter and not wait to tell them how much I love them. I am going to hug deeper and longer and I am going to love in action and words. I am going to recognize when I start raising my walls and shift my focus to living instead of losing off emotions. What are you going to do this week?
I pray these words spoke to you, please share with a friend. Don’t miss a blog post, subscribe to my web page.
