This trail no longer exists ...but, its memory does.
This is one of the last times I was able to walk down this trail.
I walked down it as a child so many times. My sister and four brothers picked berries down this trail, rode bikes down this trail, and played baseball where the trail began.
When I became an adult, and went off to college, I would still return home during the year ...and I'd return to this path.
Dad had two open heart surgeries, fourteen years apart ...the first time he had 7 bypasses, and the second time he had 5 bypasses. I feel one of the best surgeons in the country practiced in Green Bay, and performed both surgeries on Dad. It gives added meaning to me when I celebrate each Green Bay Packer victory.
And when Dad was recovering from each surgery, he would walk this path with Mom ...and when I visited, I'd walk the path with him.
I got married, and my wife and I would visit Dad & Mom. My wife and I walked this path, and our five children would run down this path ...in eager excitement, loving to explore at Grandpa's & Grandma's home.
Mom had a simple surgery ...what we all hoped would be benign. And Mom never wanted to worry anyone, especially worry about her. She said she was fine.
And as I contemplated so much that had transpired throughout the years, my wife and I walked this path together ...and we saw this one daisy hanging on, in spite of a heavily traveled path.
After that, the land was sold, and a bulldozer leveled the area. Dad & Mom knew the people, and they were happy they'd soon be having more good neighbors.
Mom discovered she had aggressive cancer. It was a new path we all had to travel down. And Mom was like that beautiful solitary daisy ...hanging on. This new path was filled with prayer.
I didn't ask for much prayer ...as I'd get too choked up talking about it. Mom had the usual horrific, yet hopeful treatments ...and at times, we thought she was going to pull through. She was feeling quite well for their 68th Wedding Anniversary in September of last year. But then, in October she needed in-home hospice. Dad and all six of her children ...yes, we were all able to stand around the bed which was set up in the dining room, and she raised both arms and gestured with her hands "Hallelujah!!"
The second of November, last year, she followed that 'hallelujah' to her promised rest, with our Lord.
Dad celebrated his 95th birthday last month. Three of my brothers were there with him, and they shared something that was unknown at that time. Actually, it is very well-known, but it was not known they were spreading it. At least three of them, including Dad, had two vaccination shots plus the booster. They are all doing okay, and likely getting over it at this moment.
Not all paths are pleasant paths ...but, they all lead somewhere.
Mom is no longer following a path ...she reached her destination with our Lord. Though we often like to travel together, most of us do not want to travel that last path together. We need each other for companionship, comfort, and support on the more difficult path leading up to our last journey. Those of us still here on earth definitely need each other.
And if we choose Jesus for life's journey, it makes it easier. Others may not believe us, and they may say they are doing fine ...but, when Mom was saying it, she was doing fine. Mom knew where she was going ...and though she didn't want to leave us, she knew her last path would be leading to Him, whom she spent her life believing in, and following.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
We are but a delicate daisy ...but, He will preserve us. And though people and circumstances may bulldoze through our life ...remembering, knowing our hope, and putting our faith in Him will help us endure. The love He gives will sustain us.
Why is it good to return to our memories??
We may have fond memories of certain events, and some of us cling to & live for those memories. Others traverse through life differently, and likely those memories do not find a place in their present day.
Yet, times have been set apart to rekindle those feelings.
Not everyone wants to rekindle feelings, especially if those feelings are not fond ones, and we haven't healed the hurts. Not everyone enjoys Thanksgiving and Christmas ...though those days are set apart to help us potentially rekindle good feelings, or to mend the feelings that need mending.
Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you. (Deuteronomy 32:7)
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth ... (Ecclesiastes 12:1)
As believers, we are set apart ...and it is also good to set apart days of remembering, of gratitude, and celebrating that which is good.
It is a time of sharing.
If we have someone in our life that we love and trust, we can also share the not so good ...the things that still hurt us, or that we are struggling with. And if we don't know anyone like this, then we need to know that even if this does not describe our friends ...it does describe Jesus, who is our friend.
Why do we share??
We share for different reasons: Sometimes we share our confusion, and pass on the confusion. Sometimes that confusion leads us to share our hurt ...and that can lead to regret, isolation, and depression ...which can lead to not sharing. Or it can lead to anger ...leading to share more anger, bringing out anger in others ...and combining anger with anger, seemingly never ending. Sometimes we share for affirmation ...looking for support and encouragement. Sometimes we share because we are simply happy, and we can't seem to contain how we feel. Sometimes we care ---not just to look for affirmation, support, or encouragement ---but to look to affirm, support, and encourage others, and we share out of love.
We share in so many ways on social media. I am sharing my thoughts here in this blog. That is me sharing, and others are here to share also. Yet, why do we think God shares??
I began this blog with posting a photo ...of a solitary daisy. There was another photo I would have liked to share, but that day I didn't have my camera. I was driving by the old Mental Institution. I worked in the children's division, but both buildings were located on the same property. The adult section was a very old architectural structure which I thought was very impressive ...though I also thought of Disney World when I looked at the spires jutting up into the skies.
This particular evening, I was driving by ...and just as I looked over, I saw the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen, with those spires reaching up to touch that brilliant sky. I reached for my camera, and was going to pull over ...but, the camera was not there. I remembered I had been taking photos at the house, and had left my camera there.
I know other people must have seen that beautiful sunset, but I wanted someone to see it just as I had seen it. At first, I thought it was a waste ...seeing the sunset, at a time I was unable to share it. But, at that moment I felt a bit embarrassed by not acknowledging who was sharing it with me. God has created a world for us, with such an array of beauty ...that no two sunrises, or sunsets are the same. But, we look forward to each of them with eager anticipation. Not all are spectacular, but it makes it all the more spectacular when one is. And the One who makes this all possible is our spectacular God.
Yes, we get more than a glimpse of God when we see these things. We know how much more special it is when we share something with someone. This I know ...because it is an experience that proves itself over & over.
I often wondered why God, who is in need of nothing ...why He thought to create us. We seem to be such troublesome creatures. But, I have also thought of when He first created the angels ...and how spectacular they were. That spectacularness was not a benefit to all, but neither is it to all of us. Many people struggle with the same strivings as some of the angels did ...and it is not to their benefit either. Yet, perhaps it is to our benefit to have been created significantly less spectacular ...so, we can more easily see how beyond spectacular God is. He wants to share ...and He has shared, and He wants to share eternally with us.
It seems that God shares because He loves us, and love cannot contain itself. God 'is' love ...and God created us to share Himself with us.
And I think that is the best reason to share. God wants basically only two things from us ...the first is actually a combination of acknowledging and accepting Him, and the second is to share with others that realization of His love. We naturally want others to see Him as we see Him ...yet, even more importantly, is to see Him as His Word accurately portrays Him.
All the way through the Bible is written testimony of God's love, but the finale is when Jesus gave His life for us ...and said, "It is finished!"
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