Day 52 What Do We Do?

2/21/2025 

 

Frodo from Lord of the Rings was tasked with a mission he never should have gone through. His uncle Bilbo Baggins had discovered by chance the ring of power on his adventure years earlier, a ring that was very evil and very powerful. In the end, the ring is destroyed, and Middle Earth is saved, and the rightful king returns to the throne, and when it ends, all is well, except for Frodo. It reminds me of the scripture verse in Luke 12:48, "to whom much is given, much is required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."

Today was difficult beyond description, and at this writing, there still is not a concrete resolution. Honestly, I don't have anything within me to discuss the events of today. If anyone cares to know, they can check my Facebook page that chronicled events one after another. All of the details are not given, but I have learned things I would rather not have known, and the terror has only begun, as we wait for the return of the hostages today, very soon, in Israel. Normally, I wait with everyone else, but I'm not sure I can do it tonight, or this early morning. It is nearing 11:30 pm here in my little piece of America, and it is about 6:30 am in Israel. I'll find out all too soon.

Tomorrow I have a funeral to attend at the church across the road. The man was my neighbor, and we visited each Sunday morning I attended, and I found him very pleasant and friendly. He seemed to be known by all and well loved. I remembered him from my daddy telling me that he, or his brother, had helped him with his yard work. Somehow, I think it was him. I've not attended church for a couple of Sundays, as I've had a "bug," and I didn't want to share it, but I remember he wasn't there that day, as I made mention of it to a mutual friend. After he did not show up another Sunday, according to what I was told, they found out he passed away. This broke my heart. Although I have not known him very long, I feel that I should have invited him over to our home, as my son lives with me, and he was alone. But, I never did. Now, it's too late. The obituary only contained his name, date of birth, and the fact that he attended the church. That was it. No interesting facts, except he was loved by family and friends. What family? What friends? We have to do better than that. 

Conviction and regret flooded my heart, and I wept and wept. But this type of story is more the norm than the Hallmark movie accounts of beloved friends and loved ones with a packed church, and people standing in line to pay their respects or speak about the life of that one. I hope I am mistaken, and that tomorrow will bring memories from people who knew him, and then, perhaps, a better obituary can be written. But I am broken and confused.

I've had a lot of loss in my life in recent years, and it becomes very lonely. I did not move back here to stand beside graves crying over missed opportunities. I have friends who think about their chronological age, and all they do is talk about dying. Although I am very aware of my age and my life expectancy based on my parents' and grandparents' lives, only God knows the number of our days, and we must continue the race set before us until our race is done. In short, we have purpose. There's no understanding of tragedies, such as Israel is facing, but for the average person, we simply do not know. Life is fragile, and we need to make the most of the time we are given. I think that's another quote from either Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit trilogy. Here ya go:

 

 

And as for Israel, we need to mourn for the evil that exists in this world. How can things become so deplorable, but then, for Israel, there has always been hatred. Since October 2023 when this all started, there has been an increasing surge of antisemitism. Why? All Israel wanted was peace, and their friendship and acceptance of the people in Gaza proved that point. The 83 year old man whose body was returned today, Oded Lifshitz, was a friend to the people of Gaza. He routinely took them to appointments or other places, and he was a great humanitarian and activist, I heard, for these people. Why didn't the people he'd help stand with him that day? Why didn't anyone help? 

It doesn't help to speculate, and the hour is late. I am tired, and tomorrow is a busy day. I pray for Yarden Bibas, and for Oded's wife, Yosheved. Dearest Lord, watch over them, give them peace, and manifest Your presence in their lives. They need the arms of their Savior, Yeshua. Bless them, O Lord, I pray.