Sunrise/Sunset?

by Joanne Wiklund

Do you remember the opening of the movie/play “Fiddler On The Roof?” Jewish people leaving their homes, saying goodbye to relatives and friends? Our daughter, six or seven, I think, saw the movie with us. Tenderhearted always, she watched intently in a dark theater as village residents hugged and cried. Concerned about her understanding, I found myself watching her more than the screen. She seemed okay until the farmer went to the barn to check on his animals.

A well cared for cow put her head over the stall wall and rested it on his shoulder. He began to sing and speak to the cow to say goodbye. Darling Daughter moved onto my lap, putting her head on my shoulder, nose in my neck, boo hooing. I whispered in her ear, telling her someone would probably be left behind to care for the animals. She didn’t leave my lap the rest of the movie, only peeking at the screen occasionally. Years later, Riverdale High School did the play so well. Since a cousin of hers was in it, we went. She was a good sport, even after being teased that she cared more about saying goodbye to animals than relatives and friends. Wasn’t true. She loved giving birthday parties for aging relatives.

That song, “Sunrise, sunset…” hit me as I watched the sun shine over the snowy yard, casting streams of sparkles.  I thought about all the changes we’ve seen during this generation, as other generations have before us. While we have lost friends and loved ones, we have not lost God. He is forever with us if we just acknowledge His presence with talk and even tears and more tears. If we get to thinking God has left us, we must remember that He is here, right where He told us he’d be..

2 Tim 2:3 “Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
2 Tim 3:13 “But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.”