The Gamechanger

     Our parents are aging and we feel like we are waiting for the game changer. The accident or medical crisis that ends their ability to drive. The injury or diagnosis that requires them to leave their homes. The event that changes everything. Naturally, we would prefer to have all our ducks in a row, places ready for them to move into in Kalispell when the time comes. But I have learned that God is not particularly interested in our ducks, and especially in their row. It doesn't take much faith when life unfolds according to our prearranged plans and on our time table.
     Last Friday my Dad had an outpatient surgery for kidney stones. I came to Missoula to take care of him for the weekend. That plan fell apart when Dad's pain and nausea increased instead of decreased. By the time he was admitted to the hospital early Monday morning, I knew I would not be going home anytime soon. He is now home from the hospital, his kidney function has returned to normal, so this episode will not be the game changer, but we know it is coming. He is healthy, but he is also 91.
    Fortunately, our parents are both realistic and cooperative about the changes that are to come, but it is hard to know when to make them. At what point does the yard work, or house maintenance, or caregiving role become too much? Will they recognize the time when it comes? Will we? The options available depend, like so many things, on the money available. God knows our fears, and our failings, and our future. And since our unchanging God sovereignly controls the changes in our lives, I'm game.
    

Not Always a Stranger

   Two weeks ago, as we watched the news, a story came on about a Kalispell man who died in a motorcycle accident in Idaho. When the name was given, Tracy shot up in his chair and I gasped. It was a young man we had known since he was born. He was 31, only a few months younger than our youngest son. Jeremy and Tracy grew up together. He was the only childhood friend Tracy was still in touch with. You know, but you're never prepared. It's not always a stranger on the news. The drowning, the accident, even the crime. I have long realized that those reports that last 30 seconds on the news last a lifetime for those left behind. I pray for them. The family members grieving a loss--of a home, a loved one, a reputation.
    Life is tenuous, it can end in the blink of an eye. The Bible compares our lifespan to a vapor. But the Bible also says our days are numbered--in a good way. The God who made us, determined the length of our life before we were ever born. Jeremy died young. He died unexpectedly. But he did not die early.
     I have to admit, I was a little hesitant to watch the news the following day, though the odds of personally knowing someone on the news a second night were infinitesimally small. But a barrier had been breached, the one between what your head knows and what it is prepared for. We know, but we do not believe, that the tragedies we see on the news will not always be about a stranger.