03/14/2022
"Sister Karen: Moving Day!"
Dear Devotion-er:
Friday, one of my friends moved.
Her move had been anticipated for some time, though she never seemed decided on exactly when. Most of us thought she would have headed out a long time ago and no doubt, she was ready to go. She had a place picked out for a long while though she told us all there was no rush.
My friend wasn’t much of a packer, in fact, she didn’t take a thing with her. It was a good lesson in moving. Take only what you need, and she needed nothing. Left behind were spaces. Oh, her touches are still there, keepsake memories, but gone now her spirit that had once filled a house. The truth is, it matched her perfectly, for while she lived here, she had spaces too.
Those spaces won’t be talked about much. Most will only remember a wonderful neighbor, a near perfect pal. But the truth is my friend had spaces and if she were still here, she’d be the first to tell you. Her spaces were those empty places that just a regular life leaves barren. The things she should have done and didn’t. The things she did and shouldn’t. They were mostly covered over with pride, like a chair moved to hide a stain or a vase strategically pushed in front of a crack.
She knew about the flaws, most of them. Some of them she grew comfortable with, some not so much. It all looked good, but now that she moved you can really see the holes. They were spaces that a little caulk, new paint, moved furniture couldn’t hide and wouldn’t heal. Thankfully, her new place won't have any of those, and she'd also be the first to tell you, neither will she.
She needed something better. She got it! A special friend. A Savior, she’d tell you. A space filler who used his own life and heart to make her life full, and every gap, crack, stain and hole, better than new. That special friend of hers wasn’t content just to make a quick remodel of her, he was a re-maker and from her baptism His work has been underway. Complete now. As of Friday.
The spaces remain in what she left behind, but not in her. In fact, she will never have any again! The perfect life she lived, wasn’t, but now is. Go figure! A lesson for all of us, maybe easiest to see when we move from here. Thanks be to her special friend, only.
Friday, one of my friends moved. I’ll miss her… but, just for a while. 😊
Rest in Peace, Sister Karen!
Jeremiah 30:17
“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the LORD”
God is good and Jesus has remade our Sister Karen, better than new!
Pastor Max
