Summer is not over. We had a tease last weekend; now reality bites. The Woods were an absence of people. The Old Man continued to snap photos. Thoughts swirl on a summer day. A butterfly lit on the Old Man’s hand and stayed. They conversed of things great and small. The meaning of life and their place in it. The mystery of life. The majesty of a sense of place and purpose. Mr. Butterfly was enjoying his day. He knew what to do and where to go. He studied the Old Man. What a big creature, he thought. He is big yet friendly, Mr. Butterfly considered. We can live in peace.

So it goes as we travel the rocky road, poor health, and the need for a Healer. One day we are robust and the next we need a physician. We walk through one door and are met with brilliant light, and the next day, a door leads us to darkness and a feeling of abandonment. Our human journey is full of these doors. The television show Let’s Make a Deal with Monty Hall was a game show about doors. Behind one door was a wonderful prize, while behind another door might be a donkey. It is a challenging way to plan a life. Yet here we are. The Healer makes the difference.

Jim Croce sang to us that there were planes to catch and bills to pay. We are caught unawares until the still, small voice of the Great Physician speaks a word of comfort in our ear. The Bible tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. What a hope in the shadow of the valley of despair.

Neva J often told me that she would not accept Alzheimer’s Disease. She fought back. Yet the reality of her dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease was evident for all to see. Life is not for the faint of heart. We struggle against the night. The greatest accomplishments are performed by those who have challenges. Helen Keller did not let being blind, deaf, and unable to speak stop her. The Healer pierces the darkness.

We have today. Not tomorrow. Today is the day that the
Great Physician visits us. One touch of his hand and we are made whole. So we people of faith know someone created us. There is more than what we see with our eyes and hear with our ears. There is something beyond the Veil.

We play an important role in the production of Life On Earth.’ None of our theatrical roles is minor. Mr. Butterfly was playing his role this morning, and the Old Man appreciated the performance. My dear friend John was dying of cirrhosis of the liver. A little plant a well-wisher sent him spoke to his heart. John said that he observed that the little plant fought to live and sought the sun’s rays to replenish itself in its diminished condition. He suddenly understood that he must not give in to the medical diagnosis of terminal illness and fight to live. The Healer visited him and John lived several more years.

Watch in the evening shadows and the early morning first rays of dawn as the Great Physican visits your hospital room…