"No Change."

We have heard a lot about change lately. There was a whole political campaign built on the word CHANGE, but as some of us have come to learn, not all change is good.

Truth be known, the older I get the more I hate change. I used to thrive on change almost to the point of becoming chaotic; however, lately I find myself struggling with trying to keep things the same, familiar and predictable.

Some of you have walked the last four months with me as we have prayed for some friends of ours that were struck by an SUV while crossing a street. The husband has recovered pretty well, but the wife suffered a severe brain injury and has been on a roller coaster ride towards recovery.

There have been a lot of changes along this ride. Ups and downs, turns, curves and corners, and a few days ago she began going downward. Downward and downward.

Every now and then I would text her husband with two words........."any change?" and he would reply, "no change."

Then I received an email last night that said she went home to be with Jesus around 4:20 pm. Change. Not the change we had hoped and prayed for, but change. For her, the change is good. She is whole. She is in the presence of her Savior. For us, the change is.....................unknown. It will be different for everyone that loved and knew her .

As I have been processing all of this I have thought about several things I would not change. I would not change one thing about Retia. She had a way of saying your name that said she totally respected you and loved you just as you are. She had a way of saying her husband's name that made us all laugh. She said Jimmy Dukes as if it was all one word, "JimmyDukes".

I wouldn't change a thing about her, but I am forever changed because of her.
I thank God for the life of Retia Dukes. She deposited the love of Christ into every soul she connected to and she didn't even keep the change. She just kept giving and giving and because of that she never ran out of love to deposit.

May we continue to love others as we have been loved.

Cheri