Day 257 In the Pool and on the Brink

Dear friends,



Another landmark today: Smitty went swimming in a pool! Our cell group picnic, attended by some of the best folks on the globe, was a sweet time. Even yours truly took a dip. That's saying alot. It has to be VERY hot outside for me to get into the water. I did whine a bit getting in, but that's par for the course. Hanging with Steve in the water was sheer delight, and my heart was bursting with gratitude for his health and well being. No one knows what their days hold for them. Some are balmy summer picnics, some are spent in the ICU hanging between life and death. The line between serenity and peril is far thinner than we think. This quote from a famous sermon by Jonathan Edwards way back in 1741 sums it up well:



"It is no security to a natural man, that he is now in health, and that he does not see which way he should now immediately go out of the world by any accident, and that there is no visible danger in any respect to his circumstances. The manifold and continual experience of the world in all ages, shows this is no evidence that a man is not on the very brink of eternity, and that the next step will not be into another world. The unseen, un-thought-of ways and means of persons going suddenly out of the world are innumerable and inconceivable."



I am striving to live in the light of knowledge. I love to learn, I love to understand and to grasp the view of a fellow human being formerly a mystery to me. But the greatest knowledge is to know the Great One, as much as one can know Him day by day as He graciously shows Himself. And alongside that, the wisdom of the ages cannot match the wisdom of living in the recognition of what Jonathan Edwards so eloquently expresses: that we could be at any moment on the brink of eternity.



All this being said, and sobering as it is, there is plenty of room for laughter and merriment in the mix. Living in the light of a Redeeming Savior, there is beauty and joy even on the edge of the cliff of eternity. My husband stood looking over that cliff, and was pulled back to walk this road for awhile. Without the salvation of the Great One, it would be dark and scary - even terrifying. But I know He lives, and not in buildings built by hands, but in hearts that love Him, His church, those grateful, rescued souls for whom the moment of death will only be the beginning of real life... And the best part is, it's not an exclusive club, no matter how distorted the message has been. All can get on this train. But will all accept the invitation?


I probably sound a little philosophical tonite. Funny how Smitty in the pool brought it on. (And he wore sandals too!) I mean, don't get the idea that I'm introspective all the time. Most of my day was spent in stuff like making macaroni salad, and cleaning the cellar, and petting the cat. But always somewhere back there I want to remember I'm only here for a minute. Rather than making me no earthly good, I hope it makes me much more concerned about the people I spend my brief moment with. Because in the end, people are all that matter.



Thanks again for all you've done for me. You've made this bumpy road a place of richness.



Your friend on the pilgrim road,



Loriann