Several times over the past 7 years or so, I have had the privilege of caring for my mother as she has been ill—three bouts with cancer.  I say honor not because it's been easy but because of the opportunity.  It's challenging work, sometimes sleepless nights, often doing intimate things, like helping her use the bathroom or cleaning the bed, which are embarrassing for us both.  It's a privilege because of love.  Mom and I share a bond and my love for her is a reflection of the love she has shared with me for coming up on 55 years.  She took care of me as a child and supported me as a teen through all the adolescent angst. Then, as I became an adult, we became friends (never forgetting that she was my mom).  During the first 30 years of that time, we enjoyed mutual support from each other, and we still do, but the roles have shifted somewhat. 

On Sunday, I experienced the acute realization that this might be the time that I lose her, at least in this mortal realm.  I contemplated it as a concept, but this was different; the concept actually had the very real possibility of becoming a reality.  Even writing that makes my eyes moist.  Anyone who has been through this will understand the shock when that person who has always seemed immortal becomes mortal.  It's a moment when our world shifts and reality comes crashing down on us. 

You know who else understands this, Jesus.  At some point in his short life, HIs father dies; we don’t get any details; in fact, it's never said; we just see that during Jesus’ ministry, His mother, Mary, is alone.  We also see him grieve at Lazarus’ tomb.  We know he grieves. 

It's comforting to know that God feels our grief and understands our pain.  He created us, gave us life, supports us in our infancy, and comes to us as a Savior and a Friend in the person of Jesus Christ and now that the Holy Spirit is with us as a guide. He is our comforter. 

In one of the great scripture passages, Romans 8:26-27, we are told: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”  (I suggest reading the larger text Romans 8:20-28) 

God knows our hearts, He knows our weaknesses, and when we don’t know how to pray, when we are unable to pray because we are overwhelmed, and our Spirit groans, the Holy Spirit groans with us and conveys to God the Father more than words can express.  And God’s relationship with us is not bound by life and death; rather it transcends death to give us eternal life in this world and the world to come. That means that even in the darkest of moments, not all is lost, and we can hope in spite of it, in spite of the pain.  And if we forget that for a moment, God knows and understands our weakness.

Peace,

Burt