Louise our neighbor has lived in Stuyvesant Town for over forty years: a very, very long time for anyone to live anywhere. For the last five years she has wobbled, tripped and fallen forward each day going to concerts, playing bridge and of course reading the New York Times.
Louise happens to be 94 years young.
She is now giving away most her earthly possessions. A piano, representing her love of good music, books, her love of knowledge, her mother's crocheted bedspreads, even her claw-footed oak table. Everything represents the individual experiences from all the years that she lived in this city.
Leaving her apartment is certainly difficult, but it points to the fact that none of the places that we occupy today are permanent. We are all tenants. Renters; from the bodies we have, the places we live, the money we spend and save and even to the streets that we walk.
So how does the good Lord want us to approach this life?
I think that we can put on the lens of thanksgiving.
The word in 1 Thess 1:2 for "We give thanks" oddly is the word eucharisteo, which is the same word that is used for the sacrament of communion. It means: eu: well, chaireo: rejoice. The same root word is used for the word eulogy.
Rejoicing well is an art.
Rejoicing starts with ourselves and then extends to those we are traveling with, in Paul's case it includes Timothy and Silas.
Rejoicing is a community activity. It may begin with you, but must always end by including others. Carol and I rejoiced with Louise, visited her when she was recovering, fed her crazy cat and even watered her plants.
I will miss having Louise living next to us, but when God closes the door, He is usually opening a window. One good thing was that Carol had the opportunity to give her our copy of the Purpose Driven Life. Even at 94, our purpose should always be fixed on the people that are part of our assignment
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment