Sunrise. Sunset.
The two words open the chorus of a song that's included in one of my favorite stories ever portrayed on stage or screen...Fiddler On The Roof.
The lyrics speak to the passing of time during the transitional moments of our lives.
AND that there are so many more that happen when we are mostly unaware.
I have to admit, I'm a sucker for all of the songs that speak to this.
"Time In A Bottle."
"Butterfly Kisses."
"Cats In The Cradle."
I think that the reason these lyrics or thoughts are so meaningful to me is that not only do they speak to the different chapters of our lives, they remind us that our time of watching anyone or anything grow up is fleeting.
Perhaps it's my vocation. Perhaps it's my age. Perhaps it's a little of both. :)
Recently, I was driving under 167 on Kent/Des Moines Road and another thought, held in tension
with those above came to mind...
I have stood next to, or sat near, held the hand of many who have passed into the next experience of life after that here on earth.
Those on the precipice.
A few have been fearful. Some have been filled with grief or regret.
But others have marched steadily, honestly and with certainty into that good, good new sunrise.
One, who had battled ALS through their last months said, "For some reason, Jesus has allowed this into my life, so I have determined to make friends with it. I want to discover what truth it has for me before I go. It does not frighten me." A few weeks later this great, big man met his Jesus face to face.
I asked another one day if he was ready for his next life step. He was in his 70's emaciated by cancer, but sitting up on his living room chair, he said, "Sometimes, Jesus is right there." He held his arm outward with strength, pointing to a place a few feet in front of him." And I looked to that space, almost expecting to see who he was pointing to, because of the certainty of his words.
A third, said quietly, "He told me He's going to make more more like myself than I've ever been."
Sunsets always give way to another sunrise.
Let us not live in fear or regret.
That which we let go of will only be replaced with something much better.
He promised....If it were not true he would have told us so.
His words, not mine.
