Faith, hope and love

I marvel at how simple life seemed during my youth. Mom worked fulltime and cared for five school-aged children with extracurricular activities. Dad worked fulltime at a local sawmill. Also adding to his schedule was a part-time job at another mill in town. Repairs and yard work were his responsibilities around the home. These tasks must have carried the weight of their time. However, they still managed to create a family life of togetherness and outdoor activities.
Looking back, I know it must have sometimes seemed chaotic for them, yet our lives flowed with a rhythm of laughter and great joy.
Fast forward to today, I was privileged to raise four exceptional children who are now successful individuals with their own families. Their growing years were filled with school, sports, social events, and life. I often think of the chaos of those days trying to balance a schedule and wondering how I ever made it work. When speaking with my now adult children, they look back, only remembering a rhythm of laughter and great joy.
A third generation of children is now being raised. And the question has risen, “Mom, how did you and Dad balance everything?” They are in the middle of a busy life of family, work, school, and extracurricular activities. The cycle continues while watching their young ones grow. My only words of wisdom are to enjoy the moments now and find the love that will carry them through the years. Life will find a balance of good over evil when God is honored.
Ecclesiastes 3 speaks of a balancing of life. There is a time for every activity under the heavens. Planting is balanced with the harvest, life with death, weeping with laughter, mourning with dancing, and so on. Though, I must admit there are days when the scales are tipped a little on the troubled side. When those days come, I try to remember that my faith is not by sight or feelings but by the knowledge that God has never left nor forsaken me.
The scripture encourages us to remember that we are God’s people, chosen and set aside. When God divided the world, He gave the nations an angel to guard over them. However, He protected Israel (Deuteronomy 32:7-9), and today, He remains the watchful eye over those who have hope in Him. Knowing this helps to smooth the edges of life when our days seem out of balance. I am not sure where I would be in the chaotic state of this world if my hope were not set in God.
Mostly, I have found this balance in life. That is not to say that tomorrow will not have its trials, for problems come to us all. Honestly, I am sure there were days when my parents struggled to maintain a home of happy children without the regular fights of growing up. I don’t remember the hard times of raising children or the hectic schedules. I only remember the joy and laughter of those days. I know that one day, this same pattern will fall on the lives of the generation I raised and their children.
In time, we will all discover that the key to life and its balance is this; That our lives are weighed with faith and hope and that we allow love to become the scale on which we are measured. In doing this, we will find healing in our yesterday and hope in our future.
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Cheryl Mixon-Cruce is Pastor of Ochlockonee Bay United Methodist Church and Sopchoppy United Methodist Church.