What’s It All About, Alfie?

We’re going way back in time for this one . . . back to the piano lessons of my childhood and a book of “popular” songs of the day I was supposed to be learning to play. I don’t really think I learned how to play any of them, to be honest.

But my question for today is . . . why? What’s this all about?

This came to me last night, when M was getting ready for bed and was trying to ask me about something in the kitchen. “Is the stuff going to be alright on the thing?”

I just looked at him.

He laughed and said, “Come on, you know what I’m talking about,” and he really thinks I can pick up on what he means with as few clues as that, but I had no idea.

Finally, he went to the kitchen and brought me a bowl of green grapes. Would the grapes be alright on the counter over night? No, put them in the refrigerator.

And that’s nothing. A minor exchange in an uneventful day. But it’s also symptomatic of everything that goes on in our lives every day.

I pray daily for one of two things – my most fervent prayer is that M’s brain will be healed. That God will lay His hand on M, or that M will be able to touch the hem of His garment and a miraculous healing will occur. But if that can’t happen, I pray that M will be spared the fear and indignity of a slow, painful, tortuous decline – even if that means I’m alone the rest of my life.

Friends, family – even total strangers who hear about M’s diagnosis – have been so kind and let me know they’re praying for us. That’s a LOT of prayers going up for us.

You’d think something would have changed by now.

But here’s the catch. And I’ve known it for a long time. God answers all prayers. But sometimes, the answer is “no.” He sees a bigger picture, He knows what’s coming down the road and He knows how He’s going to use everything that happens – everything – for a greater good.

So . . . what? Is there a lesson I’m supposed to be learning in this? Patience, maybe? Ha! Compassion? Home improvement skills? I think any and all of these lessons could have been taught another way. Maybe with baskets of puppies. Or a pony.

I’ll spend this weekend continuing the home improvement work as we ready the downstairs for the flooring team that will be here the first week in October. I feel overwhelmed by the amount there is to do, but there’s no substitute for just starting and getting it done.

And, wouldn’t you know it – about 2000 years ago, some guy named Paul was also questioning why he couldn’t understand the things that were happening around him and he had a couple of words to say about it.

For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12