Ready

There is no doubt it has been a trying year. Right about this time last year, we were hearing about a terrible virus that was affecting people on the other side of the world. Right about the end of February, a friend of ours who is a medical doctor called and said, "You need to get groceries and get an oxymonitor. Something is happening and it is quite serious. She told me what she knew, which wasn't much at the time, except she said it was VERY IMPORTANT to get that oxygen monitor and she gave specific instructions for what to do if my oxygen levels dipped down to 93 or below. She had my attention, as she is not an alarmist at all. So we followed what she said by March 1st. It was around the 13th of March that things were shutting down nationwide. It all happened so fast! We prayed at home and attended our church services online. We were careful, but not fearful. Fast forward to December 2020. I started to feel ill on the 16th of December. I was tested for Covid 19 on the 19th. I had severe body aches, my heart was pounding all the time, a headache, dizziness, nausea, and loss of taste and smell. We called our doctor when the test returned positive. He was great in giving us what we needed. My oxygen levels went down to that scary number and below and I wound up being quite sick for 3 1/2 weeks and then weak and feeling just badly for another 2 weeks. Somewhere in there Christmas happened, but I barely remember it. Taste and smell is still a problem even now, but it is slowly improving. During that time, I remember starting to feel scared that I wasn't getting better. People after all ARE dying and I started to think... "Is this going to be my time to go? Like this??" I was mulling over the thoughts Job must have had, though I could hardly compare my predicament to Job. :) But as I was thinking, I was so aware of how sinful I can be. My thoughts were full of pride and I became very aware that there is still a lot of ME in me. I began to pray that the Lord would take that sin from me and forgive me. If THIS is HIS plan, then it must be MY plan too! After all, don't we all talk about going to heaven and how great it will be? I started thinking again, how all this time working with the girls and raising the boys, was such a joy and a challenge. I certainly WANT to see my kids and I wanted to see them all grown up and married. We don't always get what we want! Was I ok with that? As I lay and repented, scripture came to mind from the book of Job. "Where were YOU when I layed the foundations of the earth", can you tell me where I keep the storehouses of rain or hail"..... (God speaking to Job) and Job's response was to declare God's wonderful mighty works too wonderful to comprehend! And I rested. I rested in Christ knowing that HE determines my beginning AND my end. He has determined to use me in ways that bring Glory to him, and if that means dying of Covid and not on some spectacular missionary journey spreading the Gospel, then so be it. The good news is God used Covid in my life to show me my sin, AND, I'm still here. The end of life will come in God's timing, which is always perfect, and I rest in that being ready to serve Him here on earth, or in Heaven. How about you? If God were say your days are over, would you be ready to meet God? For those who know Him, because of Christ's sacrifice on the Cross for our sin, it will be a joyous reunion. For those who don't, it will be a fearful day of judgment. I don't know about you, but I want to be ready!