a day, a life

Psalm 23:6 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Each life is lived out in days.  Sometimes there is a day that focuses the meaning of a life.  This Monday was that kind of day.  A phone call from my Mom first thing in the morning led to a trip to the Emergency Room to identify the source of pain she'd been having for a few days.  The caring staff at the hospital walked us through scans and then gave us information that turned a day into a reflection on life.  Mom has lived a lot of days.  At 96 she's experienced over 35,000 spins of the earth on its axis.  She grew up with memories of riding in a Model T, hungry men coming by their home for food during the Great Depression, singing in a college choir the day Pearl Harbor was bombed...There have been historical days in her experience!  There was a rainy day in 1949 when she married a young and ambitious engineer...Three more exciting days as her children entered the world came over the next several years.  As we grew up she brightened every single day we were with her.  I am an optimist because my Mom is and every day that I have known her she has been a positive, hopeful and encouraging presence in my life and the lives of many.

So Monday was a day, and a day with serious news.  But it was also a day when, between x-rays and cat scans, Mom was showing interest in the nurses and doctors who came to see her...asking about their lives and professions and remaining buoyant and optimistic through it all.  Hers is a life that embraces every day and seeks to brighten the day of all around her.  And now we can return a bit of that love to her as she walks through some challenging days ahead!

Much love,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."