A Date

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto    wisdom." - Psalms 90:12


Dear Friends,

My oldest daughter has an exceptional ability to recall dates.  She remembers birthdays of most family members, the year that events took place and who was there.  She remembers the dates when several loved ones passed away.  She can recollect the date of the home going celebration.  She remembers graduation years.  Some would call it uncanny.  I call it a gift. A gift aligned with today's scripture.

At this point in my life there are the usual dates that rise to the surface.  I too can recall the birthdays of immediate family and anniversaries.  However at this moment two dates are entrenched in my memory, September 16, 2012 and November 12, 2015.  In 2012 my mother went home to be with the Lord and it will soon be three months since my sister went home.  It is more than the recall of dates that causes me to pause.It is also upon reflecting on the life of both my mother and sister.  It is the recalling of shared experiences.  It is pondering the goodness of God in the added value to our relationships. We were not just mother and daughters or sisters, we were all  three of us, sisters in Christ.  

There was no way to know when our earthly association would end.  The question: would I have done some things differently? This can be answered with a resounding Yes! in both instances.  I would have called more, visited more, loved more intentionally. These things I would have done  had my heart been wiser, clearer in understanding that we should take nothing for granted.  

 Even as I say these things, there is the Holy Spirit prodding me, encouraging me, letting me know that even in the missed steps and opportunities the Lord was and is still  teaching me.  I have a new way of viewing time now.  Thanks to the strong love of my mother and sister and their unconditional acceptance,  the dates of their departure to their heavenly destination  encourages me as much as it sometimes makes me sad.

The encouragement comes in knowing I too have a date.  It is not a blind date.  I know who I am going to meet.  My date is with the Lord.  He is waiting to receive me when it is my turn.  He will send for me.  He will prepare me.  He will supply the sufficient grace I need to get me ready for "my date."

in Christ,

Sis. Stephanie


"Are you ready? Are you ready for the coming of the Lord? Be ye also ready, ye know not the day. When the Lord shall come....Will you be ready when Jesus comes?"