"Always"
T
hree Hundred and sixty six days ago God sent me the very scripture He had been laying on my heart over a year ago. Over and over again I felt God drawing me to two special words, "ALWAYS" and "EVERYTHING." Such a powerful meaning packed into each word.
"
<span class="crossreference" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(
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Rejoice always;
<span class="crossreference" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(
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pray without ceasing;
in everything <span class="crossreference" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(
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give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
I was amazed, but not surprised, that God gave me my favorite verse on my birthday ( My mom e-mails me daily the Bible Gateway daily scripture). He had been preparing me and now reminding me of these words, "ALWAYS" and "EVERYTHING" as he brought my family the following day into what so far has been the hardest day of our lives.
Our Saviour, Our Creator, His Beauty, His Perfection, and His Eternity are just a very small part of our heavenly dwelling we will get to experience. In the past year of tears and sadness I try hard to reflect on God's Sovereignty. Knowing God with out a doubt has a plan, and does all in His timing for way better reasons then I could ever imagine.
What we see and know here on earth can't comprehend to God designing and orchestrating every detail within every living and non-living thing. To think otherwise would be bringing our Creator who created out of nothing down to our level.
“I am the
Lord
, and <span class="crossreference" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(
)">
there is no other;
<span class="crossreference" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(
)">
Besides Me there is no God.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me;
That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is <span class="crossreference" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(
)">
no one besides Me.
I am the
Lord
, and there is no other,
The One <span class="crossreference" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(
)">
forming light and <span class="crossreference" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(
)">creating darkness,
Causing well-being and <span class="crossreference" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(
)">
creating calamity;
I am the
Lord
who does all these."
Isaiah 45:5-7
My family has been crushed over this loss. We still struggle and most likely will continue struggling and trying to understand. What we have though is God's Words. We have His truths and His promises. Still a struggle, but such encouragement during those sunny and dark days.
I miss you Uncle Dick! I always will. I miss you just coming over in the afternoon and us talking about scripture and life. You helping me with my million ideas and craft. How you truly got excited over even the smallest things that happened in my life. How you took time to listen to my kids. To show them you carried about them. Someone I could call at any hour just to chat with. Someone who was not only my best friend, but my families as well. You drove my dad and encouraged him from the beginning of his growth in our Saviour. You drove Dennis to dig deeper and in his growth in Christ as well. Always studying God's Word. Coming to us when you got excited in the discoveries you were making in His Word. Excited about what God was showing you in the four Greek words for Love. I miss this all. I miss this past year and all the things that have happened that you would have been apart of. You were so excited about God sending us to Bosnia. To see what He was showing us. I secretly told you God's plan for us to have another child. I never would have guessed our little lady would be honoring you by the name God laid on our hearts. However, I'm so proud to have her share your middle name.
Yes, I'm saddened by not only new things in our lives that have happened, but in the lives of my parents and my sisters family that you would have been apart of. This though is where God has given me strength to take my sadness and give it to Him. To see that from Heaven rejoicing is happening and you are right where you have always wanted to be. You are soaking up God's glory and I know you are anxiously waiting for the day God calls us all home.
Our earth is not our world. Our Saviour is our life and eventually we will be embracing Him and reunited with all those that went before us who had their faith in Christ.
Dennis and I miss you. I know God has given us wings to continue to fly. I love when our kids talk about you. When they ask if you are eating lots of cookies since you couldn't here on earth. I smile knowing you can eat anything now. I'm so thankful for the 25 years I had with you. I would rather have that than none even though it's been a painful year.
As believers this is just a short separation we have compared to eternity someday. Love you so much and I remind myself to "Rejoice Always!" Rejoice knowing you are seeing our Creator. Rejoicing that pain, and sorrow are know longer.
I'll still struggle here and there missing you, but my hope is in His Truths. I pray that Gods plan for my life is that I two can be a bright light of God's Word. I pray that the day God calls me home I will have shown His strength all over. Thank you for showing me that. Thanks for caring so much for me that you continued to direct life towards our Saviour.
"Rejoice Always!!!" Rejoice indeed... for you are with the Lord, God Almighty the Creator of ALL!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo3DudOzV4k?rel=0]
****** If you would like to watch the video I made for his service last year which reflects what an amazing godly man he was feel free to click on
. This will redirect you to one of the posts that has the video link. ******