Do you ever get angry that you have no control over life or death? Do you question God's timing in the taking of someone you love?
It's not that I get angry, I just find myself wrestling with God's timing, because I believe that He is sovereign over all things including life and death.
Especially at this time of the year, I find that I am very much aware of the "giving and the taking," of the LORD, because there is such an emphasis on giving that is symbolic of the gifts that the Magi (wisemen) brought to honor the Christ child in recognition of His Divinity and the prophecy of His birth, as the Messiah/Savior to the Jews (and all the Earth)
(John 3:16).
Even though I find great joy in this season of giving, I am aware more than normal of the sense of loss and the "taking away" of those I have loved who will not be here to celebrate this blessed Christmas Season for yet another year.
Our family's Christmases have changed through the years; first when I was a 12 year old girl and my Dad died suddenly; when my grandparents died; when our son, Kevin, died; and this year in the "taking" of my one and only brother, Russ. I don't like these changes one bit, and I often feel like that 12 year old girl who suffered the loss of my Dad, telling God even now (though for the most part I am at peace), "I don't understand! Why do you give us people to love only to take them away so soon?"
Though I know that as God's own "child," He has no problem with me grimacing over His "giving and taking," and He graciously comforts and consoles me, it is His Spirit that I count on to remind me that these special people in my life were not mine in the first place.
In being reminded of this truth, I reaffirm my faith and trust in Him alone, and I acknowledge once again that life here on Earth is only temporary, but, because God gave His only Son, Jesus, He has given the blessed gift of Eternal Life and I am able to say without hesitation, "The LORD gives and the LORD takes away - Blessed be the Name of the LORD!"
This Christmas will come and go, the gifts given and the memories of Christmases Past will fade, but Eternal HOPE and the gifts of God's love and grace through Jesus Christ will sustain and strengthen me for yet another New Year!
“Prosperity has a tendency to conceal idolatry and false faith. Loss reveals what we really love and believe.”
With Eternal Hope,
Angie "a mom like you"
amotherlikeme@gmail.com
www.amotherlikeme.info
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