For Such A Time...

   This is a post about a Change, a Conscious Decision, and a Realization. Let's see if I can fit it all in starting with a verse or two from the page of Psalm 105:

"When he summoned a famine on the land
and broke all supply of bread,
he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave."

   As I read this, the words of Mordecai to Queen Esther came to my mind, and the phrase, "For such a time as this".

   In the not so distant past, my wife began having trouble with her right hand. There seemed to be a disconnect between what she wanted it to do and what it actually did, and so gripping with it and holding on to something was uncertain. So a Change had to be made in our division of duties around the house.

   I began to do more of the work in the kitchen. Not the actual cooking stuff, although I can make good oatmeal, but more the clean up and putting away. This would free her from the anxiety of possibly dropping something. A Conscious Decision that this was the time, and life would be easier for both of us. After all there is plenty of time in retirement for me to play, even after a little "work".

   This morning, after breakfast (oatmeal, again), we were talking about how our roles had changed in the kitchen area. As we talked, and she thanked me for all I was doing to help, the Realization hit me. Not only did I not mind doing these things, I actually enjoyed it.

   Me enjoying "women's work"? Now that was a novel thought, but it was true.

   I told Mayre, way back when this all started "You have done all this for me for the first 50 years of our marriage, now it is my turn to do it for you in the next 50".

   She would much rather be able to do all of this and serve me, that is just her way, but times change and circumstances with it. We all must play the hand we are dealt.

   How much better to play that hand with "yes, I can" rather than play it with "do I have to?"

   And I can thank God for letting me see what needed to be done and being able to embrace the change with joy. A miracle for sure.

   For Such a Time as This