Diaphanous (adj.); light, translucent, and delicate

It's 1:47 AM and my dad is calling.

"Dad?"

"Hi sweetie."

"Why are you calling me so late?"

He would go on to explain that my 71 year old grandfather had taken his last breath. Just short of a month earlier he had been diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer after going to the hospital for what was previously determined to be pneumonia.

We watched my grandfather slip away from us without the means to save him. We felt helpless.

No. This is not a fun topic. This is not happy. This is sad. This is reality. Earth is not forever. Life on earth is not forever. Life is fragile. Life is delicate.

My grandfather had the roughest hands. They were calloused and scarred from years of work. They were used to build a play house and furniture or decorative pieces, fix cars and chairs, and to open a tough lid on a jar.

However, they were also used to craft custom jewelry and hold his six grandchildren. He was tough, but delicate. Careful, but deliberate.

Life is delicate. It is given to us by the Lord for a short time in the eye of eternity, and then it is taken away.

But the fact that life is delicate does not mean it is fruitless. My grandfather believed in working hard no matter what. I can't ever remember him not giving 100% or more to anything that mattered. That is exactly what we are called to do. We are called to make our time on Earth count, but at the same time to realize how delicate our life is. We must work hard at the big things that everyone sees like building a play house. We also need to make our time count toward the small things like carefully crafting a prong to hold a diamond in a ring. In life, that can mean that we are actively serving in an outward capacity, but in private, we are praying and working on ourselves.

Just because life is delicate and we have to take care of those delicate things, does not mean that we have to walk on eggshells. I struggle with this. I am delicate 90% of the time. I get stressed and emotional and decide that the delicate things to focus on are more important that the rough work. I have to life my life fearlessly and strive to outwardly reflect the delicate nature of that which I am improving. My grandfather's rough work and dedication to everyone he encountered was reflected in his patience and grace. And his patience and grace was reflected in his dedication to complete whatever task he had started.

We are not called to fear the delicate. I picture us walking around with a glass bowl in our hands and all we can do is stare at it. We don't move or go out for fear that we may bump someone and break it. But that bowl is to be used. It is meant to hold other items of importance. If we continue to stare at the bowl, we will never experience the full potential of the bowl!

YOU have potential. I have potential. You and I have a responsibility to bring our fearlessness into the delicate and bring the delicate into the fearless.

My grandfather recognized that his life was delicate. Lying in a hospital bed, he knew that he was dying. He knew how fragile he was becoming. However, he never stopped praying. He never stopped singing his hymns. He brought his delicate nature forward into the fearlessness of his faith. Even when he lost his sight, he continued to see the graciousness of his Savior. I am sure he was scared- though he wouldn't admit it. And fear is a human reaction. Just don't let to hinder you. Don't let it freeze you and make you stagnant. What if we brought our faith into the fearlessness of being kind and serving others? What will you put in your bowl if we stopped fearing that it would break?

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid".

- John 14:27

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,

neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord".

- Romans 8:38-39