Soul, Do You Have the Spiritual Initiative and Discipline to Make it to the Finish Line of Life, in Faith?

Proverbs 24:1  Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them. Proverbs 24:2 For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief. Proverbs 24:3 Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: Proverbs 24:4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Proverbs 24:5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

From Time to time, my minds eye recalls the very last gaze into my dearest Grandmothers' eyes. She had suffered for years from cancer and it had deteriorated her body. The agony of body and soul that I saw there. The sadness that I couldn't ease any of that, by presence or song. We had done all our comforts and now it was time for the goodbyes. I said words that felt blank and insignificant in the light of the eternity that she was facing. She had shared her favorite hymn with me earlier and I had thought this visit was for me to tell her how very much she had meant in my life. She said, don't say anything at all. Don't sing, just sit there. I did that and I cried for years later that I couldn't ever tell her. Did she know?

I would trade every trophy to have gone back and not have missed those silly things she wanted me to do. Shopping? Watch tv? not as important as a tourney! Now it was. My Father cried buckets of tears, like I hadn't seen ever. The tears came from behind his hand like a fountain. Why couldn't I have taken her to the movies and done those silly things? He had the same sentiments that I did. Chasing the next level of greatness in the park scene seemed more important at the time. Scholarships that it lent us may have been okay, but they were no comfort at her gravesite.

Learning to prioritize responsibilities and not miss the really important things for the trivial is difficult. Women have unusual stumblingblocks to seeing God's mercies in their pain. Scripture tells us this and I have found it true in my experience.

The accuser seems to have a megaphone deep into the soul of women as we age. He accuses your every service and labor pain. He accuses God's every goodness and mercy. Perhaps this is part of the curse, as well.

Accumulating good counselors and good counsel, who can cut through your most foolish defense of your sin, is best. Try not to give the devil as much to accuse your soul of and keep short accounts with your loved ones, so that you are ready at the moment's notice, should it come that swiftly.