No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39
Life is often filled with disappointments and do over wishes. We make decisions every day that for some of us we regret making. There are those simple decisions we make that almost become rote like such as what do I make for lunch-the healthy salad or the roast beef sandwich from Arby's. Then there are the every day work decisions we make which are based on policy, technical know how, and what it states in the company manual. Then there are the emotional decisions we make that can go either way in the emotional pendulum depending on the outcome. If your loved one dies because of the surgery you approve it is natural to play the should game. "I should have done this for my love one instead of that then maybe I would have had a better outcome."
My bride of 25 years and I traveled to Chicago for some rest and relaxation, sight seeing, and seeing friends along the way. We enjoyed going to the 103rd floor of the Willis tower and stepping onto the glass floor for a look below. We enjoyed the different hotels and stores. We enjoyed spending time together as husband and wife.
The last time we were here was shortly after September 11, 2001 when our kids were small. At that time we took AmTrack and got around town by taxis and stayed in the Ambassador hotel and enjoyed the Michael J. Fox hotel suite as a compromise when they lost our original reservations!
I caught my self using should in my conversation. "I should have done that with our daughter instead of that and maybe she might still be alive"." I should have talked to more doctors and sought more second opinions." " I should have got a referral for her to be seen by the Mayo Clinic, the Taj Mahal of medicine." I should have, I should have, I should have become the game for those who didn't get the outcome they desired when there loved one dies unexpectedly. How many of us have bombarded ourselves with the 'should's?'
How many of us should on ourselves when we become remorseful over the path we had taken? I learned in my journey that life is never done in rehearsal with memorized lines. Life is first run with no chance for rehearsals. Life is learning on the job with mistakes and all. We have to make the most of whatever decisions we make and go forward trusting God that we made the right ones and leaning on Him when the choices were wrong.
I love Thomas Kincaid paintings because for me each painting expresses so much beauty, so much imagination and so much heart and soul. For some who may not know Thomas Kincaid was known as the painter of light for his ability to put streaks of light into his paintings to make them more life like and when you put the right light source glistering off of it you simply do not want to take your eyes off of it. Like Thomas Kincaid God has the ability to take his brush and place beautiful streaks of light into our lives to turn the messes of our lives into pure works of art. No matter how messy our live may be God loves you and he wants to make you into a masterpiece that will be used to draw others to Him.
Finally, I end with a story based on our friends Caring Bridge blog post. Our friend received the devastating news that he had been diagnosed with a disease that often ends tragically. Recently, they traveled as a family to Hawaii where they went on a hike to the top of a mountain. Our friend quickly learned that his strength wasn't like he had before the diagnosis. He was able to make it to the top with a few stops along the way, but when it was time to climb down he had to lay his arm on his wife's shoulder and have his son walk in front of him. He was able to walk down. I was struck by the illustration that this is exactly what Jesus Christ wants to do with our lives. He wants to be our guide. When hard times happen He wants to lead us and guide us to safety. When we begin the 'should 'game He wants to remind us that our loved one is in an awesome place and that He will guide us through the pain, through the earthly grief until we begin to feel 'normal' again. Go ahead and lean on your Savior Jesus Christ and watch him turn your canvass into a beautiful works of art, suitable for framing in Heaven's art gallery.
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