Brenda’s Blog – May 19, 2015
“Annie, you’ve been circling the drain for thirty years.”
My friend called to ask for prayer because her health is very tenuous. Even in the midst of her difficulties she maintains her sense of humor. She told me of calling some long time dear ones to report on her current condition. The husband without skipping a beat responded with those words.
She told me how true they were. And then she told me of God’s faithfulness and goodness. In spite of ill health and strained relationships, she saw the hand of a loving God moving in her life.
It made me think about others who face dire circumstances. My paternal grandmother reminded us regularly, “Remember, I am a heart patient.” She managed to circle the drain successfully into her nineties.
How does it affect my thinking if I know my time is limited? How does a doctor’s report of serious health problems change my priorities? What would I do if I knew the sands were flowing out of the hour glass?
Then I realize… my days are numbered; my existence is temporal; my hold on life is tentative. That should make me look at the ebbing water flow and want to be purposeful without being compulsive. Those recognitions should give me energy to face each day with planned gratitude.
In our teen years, life seems endless. Even in our twenties, thirties, and forties we write our life story with pencil, knowing there is an eraser on the end to give us a “do over.” However, somewhere in our fifties, sixties, and surely seventies we exchange that pencil for a pen with permanent ink. No more time to rectify mistakes quite as easily – and directions are more firmly fixed.
The water seems to move toward the drain with a bit more speed. However, as long as life lasts, we have reason to give thanks and to bring meaning to whatever we are given to do. Some of us seem to be issued shorter terms than others. Some, like my friend, appear to have abbreviated lives but continue on way past normal expectations. We do not know, but we do know the one who ultimately pulls the plug is our loving Father who brings us all the way home at just the right time.