REMEMBER, THE SUREST THINGS CAN CHANGE<\/p>\n
Barbara and I were were back in North Carolina in mid-February. We traveled back to see our N.C. family, to visit The Pines, our anticipated new home, and for me to attend the board meeting of Pfeiffer University, of which I am a trustee.<\/p>\n
As we were touring The Pines for a second time we noticed construction on a new dining room. The construction was hidden by white dry-wall. Residents had been invited to write brief and pithy sayings on the wall. Here are some of my favorites:<\/p>\n
\u2013What did our parents do to kill boredom before the internet? I asked my 26 brothers and sisters and they didn\u2019t know either.
\n\u2013Never waste your time explaining yourself to someone who\u2019s committed to misunderstanding you.
\n\u2013The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel too fast and you miss all you are traveling for.
\n\u2013If one door closes and another door opens\u2013your house is probably haunted.
\n\u2013The only person who likes change is a baby with a wet diaper.
\n\u2013Remember, the surest things can change.<\/p>\n
The old joke goes: , \u201cHow many Presbyterians does it take to change a light bulb?\u201d and the answer which comes screaming back from the congregation is: \u201cCHANGE?!?!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n I was remembering our February trip to The Pines the other day. That was in February, less than two months ago. Barbara and I had our future all mapped out. We would get our house ready for the market this fall, list it next January, sell it for a handsome price, and move to the Pines in Davidson, N.C. by this time next year.<\/p>\n I keep coming back again and again to the saying, \u201cIf you want to make God laugh, tell God your plans.\u201d<\/p>\n Life can turn on a dime.<\/p>\n The Psalmist got it right:<\/p>\n \u201cGod, you turn us back to dust, Who knows what the world will look like in January 2021? Who knows what it will look like on June 1 of this year?<\/p>\n As we age we long for stability and no surprises. Alas, it cannot be so. Gerontologists tell us that older people face more debilitating change than any age group in society: death of loved ones; change in living situations; financial constraints. The list is long.<\/p>\n But as people of faith, we are not without resources as life pulls the rug our from under our feet. The old hymn, \u201cAbide With Me" expresses our faith exquisitely. It was written by Henry Lyte in 1847. Henry Lyte wrote this song as he was slowly dying from turberculosis. Just three weeks after completing the hymn, Lyte passed from this mortal realm into God\u2019s eternal kingdom.<\/p>\n Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day; I need Thy presence every passing hour; I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless; Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes; Listen to the choir of Norwich Cathedral perform this beautiful hymn.<\/p>\n
\nand say, \u201cBack to what you were, you mortals!
\nYou sweep us away, we are like a dream,
\nlike grass that is renewed in the morning;
\nin the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
\nin the evening it fades and withers.\u201d
\n\u2013from Psalm 90<\/p>\n
\nThe darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
\nWhen other helpers fail and comforts flee,
\nHelp of the helpless, oh, abide with me.<\/p>\n
\nEarth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
\nChange and decay in all around I see\u2014
\nO Thou who changest not, abide with me.<\/p>\n
\nWhat but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
\nWho, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
\nThrough cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.<\/p>\n
\nIlls have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
\nWhere is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
\nI triumph still, if Thou abide with me.<\/p>\n
\nShine through the gloom and point me to the skies;
\nHeav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
\nIn life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.<\/p>\n