Thank you Father for life in you. For the reminder that life itself and everything in it is a gift from you, and that you and you alone are the only constant we can count on. Thank you all who continue to follow along.

Life has its seasons. In this season we are learning how to engage life again. Matthew is back at school, making friends, putting on a swing dance class with a classmate; they had 12 students the first day. He has an old fashioned record player with swing music records. He is doing things he that gives him joy. Noah is enjoying the classes at Ecola and is coping well. Ben is at Central and struggling with isolation. He is finding it hard to connect when most other kids on campus have their earbuds in and focused on their phones. His best friend is in the military and just got engaged. Our daughter just finished a week paging for Senator Braun in Olympia and had a good time. I think we are spinning our wheels less and focusing better.

I am still very contemplative, and prefer staying home with the dogs. My interest in most things is pretty minimal. Procrastination was never something I would allow myself to engage in, though now I find it wins out a fair amount.

My thoughts this week were fairly philosophical and I realized was along the lines of Ecclesiastics and my conclusion the same as King Solomon’s. We all forget, and as we age we seem to forget more. Even my kids wouldn’t remember much of what we did in their younger years if it wasn’t for home movies, pictures, and talking about those times. We also lose touch with friends from our past. We don’t think of them unless a memory is triggered, but at one time there was a closeness, a desire to get together and connect. People come and go in our lives and events you are sure you will never forget, are forgotten and if remembered, remembered by each of us differently and only partially.

The past and relationships fade in our memories. Important events lose their importance. Who are we? Are we a collection of our decisions, our experiences, our relationships, our careers, and our memories? And what are we when all of that fades from our memories when Alzheimers robs us of them? It is God who gives us value. We are His children – that is who we are.

We all desire more. We want to always remember. We want our relationships to continue and grow deeper. We don’t want life to end. We want lasting, satisfying loving relationships. We want peace, safety, joy, and contentment. We want to be spared grief, pain, and suffering. We want the promise of true love and commitment that will continue to grow and never end. In a nutshell we want what God is. He is eternal life. He is unconditional love. He knows all, remembers all. He is true peace. Nothing can separate us from Him. He also promises Himself, to those who are his ( His spirit living in us) and life eternal with him and with those who chose him.

The only constant in life is God and the truthfulness of his word and promises. He has set it in our hearts to desire him and want his lordship in our lives.

My fear this week is that I will forget – forget what Theresa and I had together, her touch, our connection. My fear was also my love for her will fade like old friendships lost through distance and time. And then if God grants me another 30+ years to live, will I have changed so much, as I did the last 30 years, that she won’t know me or our connection will be lost? I was reassured by God, that yes I will forget, my love will fade, I will change – all that is life as we know it will fade and be gone. “All is vanity” as Solomon stated in Ecclesiastics, but then concluded in Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind”.

We are just passing through, all of what we know and experience in this life is but a shadow of what is to come. Our hopes and dreams will be more than actualized, fulfilled beyond our wildest dreams. Paul compares our physical body to our eternal body as a tent (physical) compares to a mansion (spiritual). We will be reunited with loved ones, we will know and recognize each other and will have eternity to build deeper relationships.

God is the only constant in this life. “Love the LORD your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself”. Hold on tight to his promises recognizing that loss is temporary and the reward of eternal life will blow your socks off. For what we know now is in black and white compared to the color we will experience in heaven with God and His children. “All is gift” (a title of a song my son enjoys). Enjoy what God has given you today. Our hope for the future will be fulfilled to a greater extent than we can imaging.

Thank you for walking with us.