Grampy

We walked together down the road

Well, only you were walking

I was pretending to be a toad

Skipping along beside you.

You said you liked my smile

And you asked me to never stop.

You liked to wander in the wood

Hunt for fish and deer and stories

The wild was your neighborhood

And the animals, your buddies.

Your hobby was telling stories,

And I hung on every word

Until I’d heard them many times

And then I told them back to you.

About the bird that pooped on your head

How you tricked the teachers in school,

The people that you witnessed to,

And the horse that didn’t like you.

On Holidays and picnics,

Your giant video recorder

Was always on your shoulder;

You told me I’d be on TV someday

And you said you liked my smile.

Although your hands shook bad,

You drew a silly picture

In every birthday card.

At dinner, your puns were corny,

And didn’t always make sense,

But you always laughed the hardest,

And that made me laugh, too.

And whenever you came over,

You would sit down on the couch,

And let me play the piano

All the songs that I’d made up

For as many tedious hours as I liked.

You clapped for every piece,

And snored through a couple,

And prayed through many more.

I’ve been so busy lately,

I haven’t seen you much

But when I finally saw you,

You’d really changed so much.

The room was dimly lit and warm

And your red chair looked very soft

But you never stood up to hug me,

Because you can barely move at all.

Throughout our conversation,

You never cracked a joke;

When you spoke, it was a whisper

Though you used all your strength.

And when I said goodbye to you,

You took my hand in your own

I wondered if you recognized me

Or if I was a stranger to you now.

But as you said, “God bless you,”

With eyes more gentle than before,

You said you liked my smile.

And that was enough for me.

(c) Copyright April 24, 2014 - Curious Cognitive Content

"It is finished."

"When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." John 19:30 ESV

Did you ever consider those words, "it is finished"? These words are profound. Centuries of promises and prophecies led up to this moment. Thousands of people - prophets like Joel and Isaiah, kings like David, fathers like Abraham - longed for this day (Hebrews 11). Types and shadows in the old testament, such as David defeating Goliath just as Jesus defeated sin, and Abraham offering up his son Isaac just as God the Father offered up his son Jesus, spoke of this ultimate story.

Jesus himself endured much before he could say these words: Temptation (Hebrews 2:18), rejection (Isaiah 53:3), torture (John 18 - 19). He was forsaken by his own Father, who he had loved and been loved by for all eternity (Matthew 27:46).

So when he says, "It is finished," he is saying this: The prophecies have been fulfilled. The law has been completed. The horrible price for sin has been paid. The role of the High Priest is finished. There is nothing more to be done.

And for us, these words have huge implications. It is finished. That means that we can never add anything to our salvation by doing good works. It also means that we can never ruin our salvation by any sinful thing we do. The work of salvation is complete. It is sealed with the blood of Jesus. It is done.

It is finished.

Blood work

I went to the doctor's office yesterday for my yearly checkup. And I had the dreaded "blood work" done. All my life I have avoided this. Yes, I'm an adult. And yes, I go to the doctor every year. But somehow I managed to evade having my blood sucked out of me every single time.

There were two things I was thinking when I went to the doctor's yesterday. The first was, will I be alright? I can't say the word "blood" without feeling weak in the knees. The second was, maybe I have a tough streak in me that will suddenly come to life! You know all those stories where the main character is a wimp, but when they have to do something very hard, they suddenly rise to the challenge and become heroes? I always hoped I was one of those characters.

So I sat down and the needle went in, and I just closed my eyes and thought, "Is that all? Easy!" Then I realized I could feel the blood leaving my hand and streaming up to the needle in my arm. That made me shake and tremble. It didn't hurt, but it forced me to think about blood and I hated it. But soon, that was over to.

I stood up, happy to have it over and noticed that my vision was a little black. I must have stood up too fast, so I sucked in my stomach, because that would help keep the blood from rushing to my head too fast. But my vision only got worse, and everything sounded weird. The nurse made me sit down again and handed me water, and all the while I was resolved that I would not faint. I broke into a cold sweat all over, but I succeeded in staying conscious.

I left the office feeling slightly disappointed with myself for not becoming a hero. As if not feeling effected by having bloods drawn would have made me hero....

How do you react to getting blood drawn?