When in 2023 I submitted an article to The Upper Room titled “This I Call to Mind”, I had no idea of what lay in store for our family in the following year. At the time our daughter-in-law, Melinda had just finished seven rounds of chemotherapy. After regaining enough strength to travel, she and our son came for their vacation to visit us. We joked with each other that week, because here in supposedly sunny Florida, it rained the whole time they were here. Though the weather put Melinda’s longing to spend time at the beach on hold, it gave us all the opportunity to spend more time together. Sitting inside while afternoon thunderstorms and morning showers dampened our enthusiasm, we did not realize how precious those few days were, until the following summer, when the disease which Melinda had battled so bravely took her earthly life.

And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. Luke 19:3 ESV

In my seventy-three years here on earth I have discovered that it is far too easy to take days, weeks, months and even years for granted. In the words of one old song, “We thought they’d never end,” and yet no matter how much we wish that they wouldn’t, they always do. Sometimes I have wondered how a loving God, who sees the beginning from the end, allows suffering like Melinda and so many others have experienced. If you are asking that this morning, you are not alone. We like Zaccheus, are so short that even when we stand on tiptoe, all we can see is the back of other people’s shoulders. We need to climb up on something higher, to see over the crowd and into the eyes of Jesus. It is only when we come face to face with Him, that He shows us that every heartbeat, each breath, and even every cup of coffee we share together is priceless. For us as a family, we are learning to climb up a little higher and put our hope in Him. In different ways and at different times every one of us passes through sorrow. Though we wish there were some easier way, it is always in our weakness that God gives His strength and in our darkness that we cling to the light of His mercy and know more than ever how steadfast and faithful is His love!

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentation 3:21-23 ESV