Papaw Ronnie, my hubby's father, went home to be with the Lord Jesus Christ on Thursday afternoon, Dec. 1st. We got to see him slip into eternity and it was so peaceful and he did not suffer. Prayers answered. He was surrounded by the ones who were meant to be at the house at this appointed time. A time that our hearts were breaking as he left us, but also a time of rejoicing that he is with Jesus. Sounds funny to be able to be sad and rejoice at the same time, doesn't it? But, if you have been washed by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus, then no other greater joy to know that a loved one is finally home, for this world is just our temporary home. Papaw is no longer sick, no more suffering with cancer, no more being tired and weak, as Revelation 21:4 says, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. How wonderful!! Christians know that death is a new beginning, nothing but unspeakable joy and peace for the departed, for they are in the presence of the Lord! Psalm 116:15 says, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. We have this hope that one day we will be in the place too, either by death or by Jesus second coming, which the way things are looking in this world, it may not be longer. Are you ready for His return? What if it happens today, tonight, tomorrow? Are you ready? Do you have a realtionship with the Lord? People can say they are religious, they attend church, etc., but that doesn't save your lost soul. Have you admitted your a sinner, confessed your sins, repented and accepted that Jesus died for you - I know you are as worthless as me and as undeserving as I am, for I am nothing, no good, nothing! Especially not worthy for God to send His Son to die on the cross and His blood covers my sins, as far as the east is to the west, and I did nothing to derserve it. I deserve hell. But, He loved me enough to do this and it is a free gift of grace and mercy. I pray if you are reading this, that you know the Lord, and if you don't, I pray that you will come to know Him. Time is short!
Our family life has changed tremendously in this past week, especially for my mother-in-love. The love of her life, her best friend for 39 yrs, but I have to tell you that she is doing ok, by the grace of God, she is going on. She would not want me bragging on her and I have heard her say, only thru the Lord is she able to go on. Does this mean it is easy for her? No way!! She misses him more than anything, her day to day life has changed, everything has changed. But, she has been such a strong witness of her faith in the Lord during this time. The Bible says we are to grieve, but not like we don't have any hope. She is and I believe, will continue to do that. I will stop here, for I know she wouldn't want me to keep on about her and how she has been the best model of a Proverbs 31 woman for me. This past week it has been the little things in life that I have noticed that just seem so odd. For example, we ate at Buddy's Bar B Q one evening, sat at our usual tables, but Papaw's chair was empty. He wasn't there to bring the trays of food to us, he wasn't there to make us smile. Walking into their house, has been so different, not seeing him in his chair, not hearing his stories, his humor, etc. Our daily happenings, just so different now. However, even though he is greatly missed, we wouldn't have him come back or prolonged his sickness. It was all God's plan and we trust in that. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 says Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him........and it continues on. We have slowly gotten back into our normal routines and even though we miss papaw, we still have our memories. People ask how the kids are doing and they are fine. Keira doesn't want to talk about it, but Brock has openly talked how he misses papaw and about not getting to go hunting with him again. They will be fine. I made them big picture books of just them and papaw, so they can always see the good times they had with him.
This year has been a tough one, as we have had 2 babies go to heaven, my grandfather had an accident and went home to be with Jesus, and then having Papaw go home a week ago and just watching so many extended family members dealing with difficult situations, strained relationships, and so on. But, good can come from sorrow. It can lead to spiritual growth and a closer walk with the Lord. Death is coming to us all and no one can escape it. Tragedy is intended for our welfare, as difficult as that is and to see, we will be able to one day see the big picture. We only play a small part in the scheme of things. Romans 8 :28-29 says And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of Hi Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.
We have tried hard to make sure when we talk with our kids about death , heaven, that the main focus of heaven is Jesus. Getting to be with Him! So often, you hear people in times of a loved ones passing, that they get to see so and so, etc. Yes, that is true, but oo often, some people get caught up in that and not the fact that, hey, they are with Jesus, cause He is the One who died for me, not anyone else, but Him!! How wonderful!!! People have mentioned reading certain books about so called experiences of going to heaven and coming back, I guess near-death experiences. I am skeptical about this, not saying they didn't have some kind of experience, but if they don't mention in their book or interviews promoting the book, about seeing Jesus, then a red flag goes up for me. I mean, if you don't see Jesus, then I can't be sure that really happened, isn't the reason we want to go to heaven? I know our human flesh wants that comfort of seeing our loved ones, but we must rely and trust what the Bible says. I can't imagine anyone going to heaven and wanting to come back here to this sinful world, and the Bible does tell us we can't see Jesus in our flesh and bones, we get a glorified body once we enter eternity. I don't know about you, but I want to make sure I verify things with Scripture, not hear-say. We have always been honest with our kids and we don't shield them from life and all that comes along with life. I sure don't want the village raising my babies and I firmly believe in telling them God's Word, not other people's opinions, but what God says. In conversations with them, we tell them beccause the Bible tells us this or that, not that mom and dad think this, etc. I want my kids to understand that this life is temporary and nothing in it lasts , only Jesus matters and that death is not a bad thing, if you are saved.
Phillipians 3:20 Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.
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