She lives!

Yes, I'm still alive. ;)

The past few weeks have been ridiculously hectic. I began working on a project in mid-December, and it finally was completed (for the most part) this Tuesday night. Several people were involved, and the project had its ups and downs, but for now, it's done. Yesterday was a long day, too, because I had to attend a conference, which was kicked off with an announcement of the project and a sneak peek of what it looks like.

There were times when I thought it would never end. There seemed to be so much work to do, and difficult situations sometimes became more difficult, and sometimes I got so frustrated that I wanted to cry...and sometimes I did.

But hours, days, and weeks rolled by, and the deadline of the project did arrive. Those of us who were working on the last phases of the project worked hard that last day. And now it's over. Endings do come, even when it seems like they never will. Part of why I enjoyed being a teacher was that feeling I had every year that that particular school year would never end. But I knew that it would. It always did. Seasons come, and seasons go.

We encounter difficult seasons in our lives. I met a colleague face-to-face last night (we'd communicated only via e-mail before) who lost her father a year ago. He had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, and three months later, he was gone. She is around my age. Also, she injured her back around the time of her father's passing and had to have back surgery recently. She can't pick up her 2-year-old daughter. I shared that I had lost my mother a year ago and that my husband had had his hip replaced a month after her death. It was comforting to know that there are people who can relate to what I've experienced. And really, we all face suffering and pain in our lives.

Last night the attendees of the conference were taken on a bus tour of two blighted areas of South Dallas--Fair Park and the Frazier area. The organization I work for is involved in efforts to revitalize these areas. Our tour guides (a local Baptist preacher and a community development corporation director--both of whom live in these areas) showed us land that has been left vacant for years--land that had been the site of apartments. Now much of the land is contaminated. We saw car washes and convenience stores that are the sites of drug deals, and a motel that is the site of murders and other illegal activity. It was depressing. But we also saw the construction of new housing units that various organizations are working to create. We saw older, larger homes (just down the road from run-down homes) that are in the process of being gradually restored by people who care, who want to make this world something that everyone can enjoy and contribute to positively.

Sometimes, even as we are working so hard, it seems that it will never end. But it will. That's what I like about God. He is faithful. He has brought me the summer every year of my life. (It's my favorite season.) God controls time. Our job is to do something good with the time we have. And someday, it will all end. That's the promise of heaven. And homes won't fall apart. Mold and lead will not threaten our heavenly habitats. There won't be murders, addiction, greed, and corruption. Differences won't separate the children of God. It will end. And I think our job now is to try to make our world, as much as we can, a mini replica of what heaven will be like.

Do what you can in your part of the world to work toward that effort. If we don't show people a taste of what is in store, how will they know what they'll be missing?