Optimist Roundtable

By Martha Sykes

We all have times in our lives when we realize what really matters. These past few weeks, I have been visiting with my brother and sister who’ve been in a nursing home. My sister has been there for a few years, but my brother was there because his health had deteriorated due to cancer. This disease affects so many people everywhere we go, and it is sad to watch how it literally robs the life from a person.

This past Sunday, my brother left his earthly life, and hopefully is in the arms of Jesus with no more suffering. As I sat there by his bedside, I was so thankful that he had never given up on his faith, and that his hope was to be reunited with his wife with whom he had celebrated almost 60 years of marriage when she passed away.

As I reflected on our lives together, growing up, and having so many years of happy family times, and the love that we shared, I realize that our relationship with Jesus and with each other is what really matters. My family grew up going to the Methodist Church in Shintown and we had so many good memories there!! God blessed us with a big family as my parents had nine children. There are five of us left now.

As we left the home, I carried out one bag of items that was left of my brother’s and it made me stop and think about how much stuff we collect in our lifetimes, but we can’t take it with us. In the end, we have to thank God for how we are so blessed with memories and that’s what matters.

At times like this, God walks right beside us and He gives us the strength to continue on with our lives. He also promises us that if we believe that Jesus died for us, we will spend eternity with Him and that is the hope that carries us through the rest of our days. It is all about Jesus and what we believe.