savoring

So tonight I had one of those parenting moments where you wish you could freeze time... or bottle it to revisit... but, alas, all I have is a journal, and now a blog, where I can record it. But words do little justice to a feeling. Overwhelming love. Comforting joy in the weight of a sleeping child. As I carried my little girl to bed, I was in the same moment rejoicing over the curly haired gift from heaven and mourning the future loss of this era... this falling-asleep-in-my-arms era. So with a gulp and a prayer, I tried to savor this simple and meaningful act of mothering. And as I sit here remembering the sweet little things of today - the sandcastles, the splashing giggles in the gentle gulf waves, the delighted pink faces at the prospect of hot chocolate AND a hot bath at the same time - I realize how easy it is to miss the little moments that make life.

No separation

While taking a walk on this lovely brisk October day, I was listening to a podcast by Alistair Begg entitled, "No Separation." This message was based on Romans 8:38-39 "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." I love this passage, and I love the message that Alistair gave. It was concise AND poignant.

He quoted a poem by W. H. Auden

http://homepages.wmich.edu/~cooneys/poems/auden.stop.html

After you read it, I'm sure you'll agree (with a lump in your throat) that the death of someone significant in your life seems to make all good things stop. The sky should cry with you. The sun should hide. Time should stop.

Time... as I pondered these things... walking by homes decorated with Halloween paraphernalia: bones strewn about lawns, skulls in windows, morbid signs... I remembered a movie trailer I saw for a movie called "In Time" which seems to be a modern version of Brave New World. I haven't seen the movie, but it seems that the premise is that each person has an alloted time on earth that is tracked and can be traded or spent for goods/services. And one man tries to beat the system. Just the thought of this trailer echoes every poem, book, desperate cry from any literature I've ever read... how can we escape the inevitable?

Well, Romans 8 is the answer. God has beaten the system for us. God's love spans death! It is that simple. And complex.