It’s a reality I cannot escape. Running away only makes it that much harder to deal with. Facing and giving in to all that comes with accepting the invitation, is my only option. For my response to decline would bring me only darkness and despair.
So I consent to the life I have been offered and gracefully take my place as an invited guest.
I remember in my younger days waiting to be included and extended an invitation to any party. Just to have my name among those chosen to attend was all the validation this teenager needed. I grew up with a small circle of friends so there were not many offers coming my way. Today the buzz word is FOMO (fear of missing out). I suffered terribly at the hands of this condition. Didn’t we all?
One of my favorite quotes is “Your life is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. In full knowledge and with all my acquired wisdom, I am certain that God meant for us to fully enter into our lives with Joy and Happiness. Very much like the feeling you get receiving a request to partake in the festivities of a party.
The circumstances involving my illness often put me in the position of being an invited guest to my own life. This is somewhat new and very different in its offering. In the midst of living, I find myself vulnerable and somewhat dependent on others who have chosen (or been chosen) to be with me. Some days I have little strength, I am weary of what I can get done. Watering plants, cooking a meal, driving my car, showering, shopping, cleaning (a mundane list without end); are accomplished with great effort and care. Most times I am at the mercy of someone else to take my hand and guide my faltering steps. I must depend on someone to act as the Hostess; completing simple tasks and caring for the many items on my list. I am perched on a throne of sorrow – observing my life happening around me.
Despair sets in and I allow myself a few dark moments to sit and feel lost….
Soon I remember that God has given me the gift of life and somehow I shake free from my “pity party”. I have been invited to the ultimate celebration by the ultimate Host! Difficulties and obstacles can get in the way of enjoying the banquet before me. But my gift back to God must be a life lived (no matter how hard) in gratitude for being His Invited Guest to a party designed especially for me!
God never promised a life without pain, laughter without tears or sun without rain.
But He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears and light for the way.
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