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Connecting The Dots
I finished a sermon today that I will deliver tomorrow morning in worship. It is entitled Connecting the Dots. The scripture is 1 Kings 3, the story of Solomon's encounter with God as he becomes King following the death of David. The story is rather sparse. Solomon asks God for an understanding mind in order that he might govern the people of Israel wisely.
It put me to thinking about the childhood game of connecting the dots. I used to think that connecting the dots was for the purpose of revealing what is to come. Was Solomon wise because he could understand the direction in which things were headed or was he wise because he made the connections and understood how the flow of life fits together?
I am coming to understand this time of illness as it fits into the overall picture of our marriage. This is the first time life has really forced me to connect these dots. For Thirty-five years we have had it easy. There have been some trials. My failure with the church in Downers Grove, Illinois comes to mind. Never the less, both Terry and I have remarked in the past as to how good life has been for us and how we have escaped many of the troubles others have faced. That is no longer true. For better, for worse. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. The sickness dot is now our reality and I am eager to understand how it fits into the matrix of our lives.
Here is one way. Our love for one another has deepened with each passing year. Our comfort with each other has taken on an ease that brings a solid foundation to each day. There is no doubt between us. As irritated as we might become with one another the trust we share is profound. This sustains me as caregiver. Terry's illness is no threat to our relationship. It is a new reality that we will face as we have faced everything - together. That is the way Terry treated me when the Downers Grove church sent me packing. She was hope bearer in my despair. Now it is my turn to bear the hope for her. Come to think of it the dots to be connected are dots of hope. Illness is just a blemish in the paper.
Dave Gladstone