Revisiting

I’m revisiting an incident that remains on my mind --- I met a little girl last year. She was very proud of being four years old, and showed me how she could count to four. She was beautiful, as was her mother. I wondered what brought them into a neurologist’s waiting room, and hoped there was nothing wrong with the beautiful child.

Why focus on the child? I’m still wondering that. The other option wasn’t better. Her mother was the patient. And this was only one of her four beautiful children, the youngest not yet a year old. Her diagnosis wasn’t a year old, either – Multiple Sclerosis.

My heart grieved for what she faced, but she was undaunted. She explained how the original diagnosis did throw her for a loop. That she focused on what she would miss in life and decided she should just sit down and wait it out for the short time remaining. Her first doctor did nothing to change her mind, but a second opinion did. That second doctor didn’t change the diagnosis, but gave her reality – there was much she could do, for an indefinite length of time.

Our Lord spoke of this: Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:34 KJV)

We have enough to take care of each day – don’t worry about tomorrow. We will take care of tomorrow just as we’ve taken care of today. James elaborated in a similar vein:

Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. (James 4:13-15 KJV)

What we do depends on God’s will, which John defines: And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:40 KJV)

What happens afterward?

For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. (Hebrews 10:36 KJV) And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. (Romans 4:21 KJV)

Prayers accompany this young mother and her family. May God bless them, keeping them always in His will.