I have a friend, who's packing up to move. Circumstances beyond her control have her preparing to leave the home, where she thought she'd likely live out the rest of her days. She'd picked out all of its beautiful finishes and made it into the lovely place her family called home. Her kids are grown and now she's sifting through years of the stuff that we all accumulate. With every single item she picks up, there's a decision to be made about its importance. Some things can go with her through this change, but, with some, she'll have to part ways.

A couple of weeks ago, I called to check on an elderly friend, who'd been sick. We didn't have to talk long before it became obvious that she needed help. Davis and I got her where she needed to be, but, when we left her home, that day, none of us knew that she'd likely never return to her life exactly as it had been. After so many years of independence, there would be some changes put in place.

There's been a lot of stuff going on with people we know. You're probably feeling the same way from where you stand. A lot of things just haven't gone off as planned. An empty chair at a graduation. A grandmother missing at a wedding. Treatment for illness that happens far away from home for months at a time. An unexpected job change in a new city of unfamiliar faces. A divorce that requires redefining and readjusting.      

Y'all know I'm a football fan and not really a lover of baseball, but I do get interested in the post-season if Mississippi State makes it that far. Well, they have and so, for the last couple of weekends, I've watched a lot of pitches being thrown at batters. Inside, too high, sliders, wild pitches, curveballs. With my limited baseball knowledge, I understand a curveball comes at the batter and, while he thinks he knows what he's getting, at the last minute, the ball takes a dip and veers from the course that the batter was expecting it to take.

Such is life, too. We all have plans. A mental picture album full of images. Images of what we think our future will look like. Mine has pages of traveling with Davis after Carson graduates from college. A home renovation. Enjoying my mother in good health at 100+ like her grandmother. I can see grandchildren with chocolate brown eyes and dark hair, who'll come for sleepovers. A mother of the groom dress and a new daughter-in-law to add to my Christmas shopping list. Hopefully, some blue-eyed, blonde grandchildren added to my collection, one day.

We all have a checklist of the things we expect to see in the days to come. Sometimes, life sails right down the middle, just like we expected it would. But, sometimes it veers off course and we get something we didn't anticipate. It's lower than the lofty dreams we'd dreamed or it's outside the perimeters of what we wanted.           

I guess with the flurry of changes going on with those I know and love, I just wanted to remind myself  that I can't just look at a person and know the heaviness they carry around in their hearts. I don't know the pain that they feel in the quietest part of themselves. It's impossible to detect the curveballs that someone else has been thrown when I'm not the one in the batter's box. Those things can't be recognized when just speaking on the street or scrolling through social media. I don't know the things they've had to relinquish in their lives or the detours they've been forced to take. We're all gifted performers when it comes to our feelings, anyway.

I suppose the only way I can avoid withholding my spark from someone whose light is burning low is to treat everyone as if they need to feel God's warmth from me. To assume everyone could use some encouragement on this difficult journey we're all traveling. Likely, most could. There's a whole world full of people, who find themselves living in a place, where they never imagined they'd be. We pass them, each day, holding in our possession just what they could use- love, kindness, time, and the hope of Jesus Christ.We can maintain our hurried pace and hold those things tightly to our chests or we can open our eyes to discern the places, where the love of God flowing through us can make a difference.

Life is hard. Really, really hard, sometimes. We all go through rough patches and come face to face with the unexpected. God never promised it would be any different for His children either. He did promise that we'd share in the victory He won over sin and death. Because of that, we can take the pitches as they come with hope. And cheer on the next gal, who's coming up behind us.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below- indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

And my very, very favorite verse says, "...Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior..." Isaiah 43:1-3

Maybe you or someone you know needs to be reminded of those promises.

Hope y'all have a great weekend and Hail State!