A Reflective Mood

The last few days I have found myself in a very reflective mood - not discouraged or depressed, just thoughtful. Maybe my mood was brought on by hearing of the death of another stalwart of the faith, Pastor Harvey Fritz. Over the past few years the Lord has taken home so many of His saints who have been my friends and who have been so influential in my life. I often wonder who will take their places in a time when we need godly men who will stand for the truth in a society that no longer knows truth. It has been with very mixed emotions that I have watched these saints called home. It helps knowing that they are now in a far better place and that they are with the Lord whom they loved and served during their days on earth. They would say, like Paul, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." But it is hard for us who remain. I view the difficult adjustments that their spouses are making and the loneliness which they must now battle. This is so hard. And I miss them, too. Many of them were close friends with whom I could freely discuss the many things that we had in common, as well as the challenges of life that we faced. We could encourage and pray for each other and that made facing each day so much easier. Such true friends are few and far between. They are a special gift from God. And when they are gone, there is a deep "hole" in our lives. I admit that I miss friends like Paul, Norman, Ralph and Gary. I really miss my brother. Even though we weren't often together in recent years, he was always there and he was always an encouragement to me - even when he was suffering. He was a special brother. And I miss my father-in-law. In our latter years we grew closer and he always had words of wisdom. He was a true prayer warrior. I still feel that we should just be able to call him, get up early, and drive to Selinsgrove to take him out for breakfast. But those times are gone. And of course, I really miss my dad. I do not wish him back for he is where he wanted to be. But so often I feel like picking up the phone to share with him things that are going on in my life. I miss our Friday nights when we took him our for supper. I miss our Sunday lunches when we gathered at Wendy's after our morning services. I wish now that I had spent more time with him - it is so hard to be alone, but he never complained, even when I should have called or visited more often. I live with that regret. In his quiet manner, he had a way of making everything seem better as he modeled his deep faith in the Lord. He could calm me down when I became excited about a situation and he was always willing to listen to me. So often we take these friendships and relationships for granted, until they are gone. Only then do we realize how much they meant to us. And as we lose those close to us who have helped us, we should pray that we can be a help to others who need a listening ear or a word of wisdom. But sometimes as you get older, the younger generations don't seek or want your help and that is also sad. So our daily prayer needs to be that we can be available when the Lord provides such opportunities. And as far as our own personal needs, the Lord has promised His Spirit to be with us to teach and guide and comfort. In the words of Jesus, "I will never leave thee or forsake thee." And we can count on that.