I was talking to an elderly friend yesterday about her getting older and losing her physical and mental abilities, trying to comfort her. This is an explanation I gave her…
Have you ever watched a newborn and its mother interact? They gaze intently at each other, she cooing and smiling, the baby just initially staring at her face, then slowly responding with its own first smiles and later its own loving noises. She is the center of that baby’s universe; nothing else exists. Instinctively the baby recognizes its total dependence upon her. It knows her smell, it knows her heartbeat, it knows the sound of her voice. It was part of her; she was all it knew as it became unconsciously aware of existence over the nine months it spent inside her womb. The two were inseparable before the baby was born and remain so for a long, long time. The loss of a good father is a hard thing. The loss of a good mother leaves you feeling abandoned and alone.
God says “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5). I explained to my elderly friend that as we age we can choose to hold onto the things we used to do and mourn their loss. But I believe what is going on is that God has arranged to take away those things so as we approach the end of our lives we can focus intently on Him. He wants us to look upon Him, to see Him. He wants to be the center of our focus and for us to gaze intently at Him. We need to let life go and feel His love. We need to trust Him with everything.
Of course, I believe this is how He also wants us to live our daily lives. Yes, the people around us matter. And yes, we have to actively participate in living our lives. But true joy comes from gazing intently at Him and feeling the security and peace that the knowledge of His love brings.
KJ 11-12-2020