Gifts From God for Right Now

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This is a crazy week.  It's a good week for realizing how valuable relationships are.  I have dear friends here whose 92 year old father is probably not going to live much longer.  His loss will be felt deeply by the Congolese community as well as the missions community.  Yet in the midst of all this they are continuing to focus on and serve others.  This week my own grandmother, also 92, was admitted to hospice.  Every day I deal with the conflicting emotions of being anxious to check my email and hear from my family in the U.S. and dreading what I may find when I do.  My daughter learned yesterday that two of her dearest friends are leaving very soon, and she is heartbroken over it.  All of us experience losses and grief.    Sometimes I instinctively want to hide in my bed and refuse to deal with anyone or anything, even my friends and family.  When we lose someone who is a vital part of our life, nothing is ever the same again, but the ones we still have with us are gifts from God for right now.  Right now He is with me.  Right now my family needs me.  Right now I am preparing to have NEW friends come for dinner and fellowship before their long journey home.  Right now there are people who are important to me whom I can serve, pray for, and love.  And equally important is the fact that they want to do the same for me.   It's OK to take some time alone, I think.  But if I withdraw from those who care about me, including my Savior, when I am hurt, I am shunning the very thing I need most.