Can't Change The Weather

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives and by believing in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”  John 11:25-26

I just spent a week in Florida house sitting and dog sitting for a friend (Yes, tough job, right?).  It sounded like the perfect time to be in sunny Florida and be out of the cold of winter, but cold followed me.  Yes, it was warmer than home, but not warm enough for the beach.  You can’t change the weather; you just change how you deal with it.

Life happens.  It is not what we had planned nor expected. You cannot change it.  You learn to deal with it.  It does not mean you do not get upset, cry, question why, beg for mercy, or plead to God for a miracle.

While I was in Florida, I visited my over ninety friends who had just moved from their home in Ohio into an assisted living facility in Florida.  They are adjusting to a small apartment and receiving the care they need at this stage of life.  It is not what they had planned but health changes and aging necessitated the change.  We cannot change the aging process.

I also visited my friend who while on her vacation had a medical emergency and will be in the hospital away from home for an extended period of time.  It happened without warning and now her husband is navigating the unknowns in the medical world. You cannot change the unexpected.

Another friend came home from the hospital with Hospice care while I was in Florida.  Her husband and family and friends are beginning the journey they do not want to take of saying goodbye.  It was not the plan.  My friend has made a difference for Jesus in this world and impacted the lives of so many with her joy, her music, her teaching and most of all her faith and love for Jesus.  Why her?  She has been healthy and vibrant and giving all her life and has lived for Jesus.  There are no words or reasons.  You cannot change it.

This week is my parents’ birthdays – one day apart.  This week, I give thanks for their lives, their love, and their influence upon my life.  My dad and my mom now reside in Heaven with their Lord and Savior, Jesus.  Recently I heard the song, “Phone In Heaven” – “If there’s a phone in Heaven, put my mama on the line.  Give me one more chance to tell her I love her.”  I would love to have a conversation with my mom and hear her voice and tell her once again, “I love you.” I cannot change that my mom died and is in Heaven, but I can give thanks for her life and her love and her influence on my life.  I can talk to her in my heart every day.

I heard another song, “If Heaven Had a Landline” – “Just a five minute call would get me through the day.  If Heaven had a landline, I’d ring it up every day and say, “Is it everything they said it would be?”  Yes, I am listening to some unique songs that show up on my playlist.

I have been thinking a lot about Heaven recently.  I listened today to the song – How Beautiful Heaven Must Be – “How beautiful heaven must be, Sweet home of the happy and free, Fair haven of rest for the weary, How beautiful heaven must be.”  I know my mom and my dad and my Grandma and my husband, Dave are in Heaven.  They have seen Jesus face to face.  They are happy and free.  I also know my friend will be there sooner than we want her to go.  I cannot change it.

Another friend’s dad went to Heaven this past week.  It has taken him his whole life to finally surrender to Jesus and say, “I love Jesus.”  I was with him when he finally made the commitment to love Jesus.  My friend and her family have the assurance that he is with the One who loves him – Jesus.

My friend, Jan, has always talked about Heaven and the joy of being with Jesus.  She has lived her faith and has radiated the love of Jesus in her smile, her singing and her joy for life.  She will see Jesus and be healed.  Just like my parents and your loved one, they now know that Heaven is beautiful.  They are at peace and in the presence of Jesus.

We would like to change the timing just like we would like to change the weather, but we cannot do it.  We would like to change what a person has to go through to get there.  We would like Heaven to have visiting hours or at least a phone.  There are visiting hours in ICU and in Hospice and even in prison.  Why not in Heaven?  I believe it is because we would never want to leave once we got there.

We are with people in their sickness, in the process of dying, and we are helpless to change anything.  We cannot slow it down and stop time.  We do not want them to leave, but we do not want them to suffer and be in pain.  We want them to be at peace and be with Jesus, but we do not want to release them.  We know we cannot be with them in Heaven until God calls us home.  We cry, we are sad, we grieve because we love so deeply and cannot imagine life without those we love.  Love never dies and remains in our hearts forever, but we do not want to let go physically.

We cannot change the weather or the dying, but we can embrace the one who is with us through it all.  The One who understands how we feel.  The One who conquered death by dying for us and giving us the gift of eternal life.  Turn your eyes toward Jesus.

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full, in his wonderful face.  And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”

Check out my books on Amazon -

Living In The Different

Life Lessons of A Lone Trooper

Live Different Moments