Written by Rev. Leigh Boelkins Van Kempen –
“Tell everyone who is discouraged, ‘Be strong and don’t be afraid! God is coming to your rescue.’” (Isaiah 35: 4)
One of the blessings of spending time with older people is that we can have wonderful role models. People who have lived longer than we have, whether it is 50 years longer or 5 years longer, often teach us meaningful things about how to live our lives of faith.
I was visiting with a resident recently. We were reminiscing about her church and her participation there and I was going through a catalog of all the pastors she had known in her long life. She wasn’t able to come up with the name of her current pastor but said that she missed her. I reminded her that we couldn’t have visitors right now, so it would be a while before she would see this special pastor again. The resident’s response? “That’s okay. She is worth the wait!” What an incredible attitude. When I grow up, I want to be just like her!
It has been a challenging time right now. Nothing is as we want it to be. We are limited as to what we can do, who we can see, or where we can go. It is easy to feel discouraged all the time. It is easy to be negative and distressed. While we can be thankful that we continue
COVID-free here at Resthaven, the changes we have made to keep this true feel burdensome at times.
The people of Israel had been dispersed from their homeland for a long time, and their return had been promised. Isaiah encourages them: Tell everyone who is discouraged, ‘Be strong and don’t be afraid! God is coming to your rescue.’ God was going to save them! They weren’t certain of the time frame, but God was going to liberate them.
It is hard for us to wait for our release. We want life back to “normal”. But I take encouragement from our resident. It will be worth the wait! Her positive, life-affirming, gentle attitude it one I want to emulate. I want to be just like her when I grow up!