Puppet of the Fates

So much, for now almost two years, has been completely out of my control.  Like anyone, I like to be in control or at least have the appearance of control.  No this is not a post on "oh woe is me".

Talking with my niece, I was led to tell her about Jenna, a young girl I knew back when I was adopting for the first time.  Her parents were long time friends, her greatest joy was that she was going to have new friends from Northern Russia.  She was putting together a plan to welcome them to the 'real world'. It was very cute, but was not to be.

One day, I took the boys from the high school group out for a day of paint balling in the woods.  The guys, all of whom had worked hard on preparing my home for sale, had a great time.  But getting home was a real difficulty.  Traffic was backed up all over the place for 20 miles!  Eventually, I was to get home and find that I had a message from Jenna's father, she had been hit by a car.  The traffic back up was because they had shut down the roadways so that a helicopter could be brought in.  She died about one in the morning.

At  the memorial service, over 950 came.  No they were not there because of whom her father or mother was, they are just normal people.  Nor because of whom her grandparents are, pretty normal types as well.  There was something very special about that nine year old girl - she was a Christian and lived a very active Christian witness.  Adult after adult stood and told at how she had either led them in salvation, or had challenged them to correct their walk!  Even my own adopted sister Cherie, was one those to come to salvation because of this little girl's straightforward witness.

And I meditated on this.

A Christian of only four years, by the time of her death, and look at the impact she had made!

And I thought on Larry my friend of years past, whom was miraculously healed early in my faith, he was murdered two weeks later.  And yet, that miracle was what it took for him to believe and do what was right - even if it led to his own death.

And I thought through the years.  What does longevity of life mean, if only it is to 'lengthen' life, but to no purpose for God?  Does God actually care whether we live four years or forty years after our salvation?  Or is our life based not on longevity but on accomplishment?  Maybe it is a combination of both? I wondered.

And this artificial extension of my life ....  I have no fear of death for I have tried to be faithful my entire life to what I am told.  Admittedly, I never expected to have lived this long after December 2011, so I have had to work through what do you do when all goes south, what do  you do when nothing goes right, what do you do while you are waiting, what do you do when opportunity does not match expectation?  And I have tried to find those answers to those issues and then share them  in this blog -  the short of it: you keep doing what you were told is right.

And no matter the circumstance, you just keep trucking, following the last set of orders, doing what it takes to remain faithful.

I guess I am writing this mostly because I no longer know what tomorrow holds.  It is with faith alone I face a surgeon again shortly.  Live or die, is of no consequence, for His work will continue, His goals will be met, with or without me.  And that is totally awesome.

 :)