Psalm 46:1-2 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present
help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the
mountains fall into the heart of the sea.
Somehow the other day I remembered being in school and the
teacher calling roll so she could mark students as either present or
absent. We still do that at our Service
League meetings. There are times in all of our lives when we experience
absence. We reach out at night in our sleep to someone who is no longer there;
we have one less pet to feed; the time we once spent at a job is now free of
obligation. Ever since our boys were small we had a Christmas Eve tradition of
cooking a gourmet meal just for us.
Christmas days were always spent at grandparents. This was our time to cook and celebrate
together. The Christmas after our son Glenn died at the age of 33, we could not
bring ourselves to do that just for the three of us. We decided to eat at one
of our favorite restaurants in Loganville where Joe and I lived. We were seated at a table for four. We were still faced with that empty
chair. In subsequent years we resumed
our tradition of cooking our own meal. Loss is difficult, but someone wrote
that God can only fill an empty cup. We
have experienced God’s care and healing in our loss and pray that everyone will
be able to experience the same in their lives.
Father God, When we experience the absence of something in
our lives, help us to always remember that you are ready to fill that void with
your presence. We offer our thanks and
praise, always and everywhere. Amen.
Blessings
for the day,Paige
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