Funky Rhubarb

Isaiah 43:18-19 – Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. (NIV)

"Something funny is growing in our rhubarb," daughter cried! Dad explained that the strange growth was normal. The rhubarb was going to seed. Just like me.

Consequently, I'm feeling crummy. I just turned the magic age of 65. Ever since, I've been fighting a nasty infection that just won't stop. Four doses of meds and yet it recurs. That's why these verses put me a little over the edge this morning.

Where's the new thing, God? Getting older and failing in health? Sick all the time? Weak and frail? God, I do not perceive a new thing, unless it is pain, despair, and self-pity. God, if You are making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland, they must be really deep, because the only moisture I see is in my eyes.

Then I read these passages:

1 Peter 1:6 – So be truly glad! There is a wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is tough for a while down here. (TLB)

Matthew 6:34 – So don't be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time. (TLB)

We seem to live in a million days — half in the past, half in the future. But God says to live one at a time. Will we trust God? Will we believe He's doing His best for us, right now? Will we praise Him in the midst of it, even if it is seedy? Of course. Because "blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord" (Jeremiah 17:7 TLB) — no matter what. Amen.

Prayer: Lord, help us keep our minds on Christ, in the here and now. Amen.

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