REFLECTIONS
March 9, 2008
 
 
The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:
"I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
Jeremiah 31:3
 
 
In Sickness and Health
 
Martha looked forward to his visit every day. John came each morning, gave her a warm kiss on her forehead then proceeded to see that her hair was neatly combed, her teeth were brushed and her bed freshened. All the while he kept up a chatter that told her all that had happened the day before. She especially wanted to hear how the family was doing. She missed seeing them. Unlike John, they did not come very often.
John came in the evening too to make sure that she was properly prepared for bed, to kiss her and whisper “I love you,” the words he had whispered every night of their married life. That was the moment that tugged most at her heart. She longed to tell him just one more time, “I love you too, John.” But it was never to be.
The stroke that left Martha’s body with only limited movement and her face without expression also left her unable to speak. Even her eyes would not dance as they once did. All of her emotions were trapped inside her mind with no way to let them out. Never again would she say the words that drew them together, “I love you too, John.”
She remembered better times. She remembered the tender young love in the early days, the first kiss, his proposal of marriage. She would always remember coming down the aisle in her flowing white gown, her arm tucked under her dad’s. She could see the love in John’s smile even through the veil she wore. And she remembered the tremor in her heart when he looked into her eyes promising his life and his love “for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health.” It was his unconditional promise of everlasting love.
And he kept it.
Jesus is with us every day. He is there to share his love, to care for us and to comfort us. But how often we find ourselves trapped inside our humanity unable to adequately express our thankfulness. How often we relive the time we first felt His smile even through our veiled eyes. How often we remember the tremor in our hearts when we discovered his undying love for us.
When we committed our lives to Him, He committed His life to us. It is an unconditional promise of everlasting love. And He keeps it.
 
“You are the light of the world,”
Richard Ì

www.reflectingthesavior.org.


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