Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: DISTANCE (10/08/20)
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TITLE: The Thief | Previous Challenge Entry
By Lori Othouse
10/15/20 -
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You were always my constant. No matter how old I was or what I did or didn’t do, you were there. My biggest fan and so full of love, giving more than you should have at times. But that’s how a mom is supposed to be, right?
The changes came slowly at first. Just some forgetfulness, a little confusion. But these last few months, I’ve watched it overwhelm you. I didn’t understand when you kept saying you wanted to go home…while you were at home. But I know now that you just wanted to go back to a place where you understood things and remembered things, where you felt at peace. I want to go there, too.
They call it dementia. I call it a thief. A brutal thief who steals your most valuable possessions…memories, words, understanding, peace. It has stolen you from me. It has stolen you from you, leaving a familiar face with blank eyes. You’re sitting right in front of me, but you seem a million miles away.
I still see glimpses of you sometimes – your smile and funny faces you make – and it makes me smile. Then you ask who we are and I tell you, again. It’s an up and down ride that we are stuck on and can never exit.
I want to reach inside you and pull you back. Pull back the one who went all out for birthdays and Christmas, the one who told funny stories of our family, the one who knows I’m her daughter. But it seems like however far I reach, my hands always come back empty.
As I’m longingly reaching out for you, however, I am reminded that there is One longingly reaching out for me. His scarred hands holding me and reminding me of the distance that love would go. In my desperation to hold on to something I couldn’t, I had forgotten that I was being held by One that couldn’t let go. Has He not said so?
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” -Hebrews 13:5
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:38-39
He is my real constant. My true north. The One who cannot, and will not, leave. Even those of us with the strongest love and best intentions can’t make that promise. As I’m slowly losing my mother, my Father is closer than ever, His strong arms holding me, protecting me, catching every tear. And, even though she may not always realize it, He is there doing the same for her, too.
He bridged the greatest distance imaginable so that there would never be separation again. We are bound to His love and His heart forever by His amazing grace. And His grace is sufficient to sustain us through it all.
Then one glorious day, our human illnesses, injuries, weaknesses and limitations will no longer have a hold on us, the thief will be forced to return what was stolen, and there will be no more distance of minds, hearts or bodies. Our faith will become sight in the most beautiful way possible. This is our hope, our truth, our touchstone…and it is ours forever.
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My favorite liNe was about the thief being forced to return the things he had taken.
Very well done!