Reflect:ions

This past Wednesday, March 17, would have been Luke's second birthday. Tomorrow, we will celebrate his life with family and friends. Lots running through my mind. In no particular order, here are some thoughts. Feel free to comment with thoughts, quotes, Scriptures, stories, etc. from your own experiences... and go LIGHT YOUR WORLD. :) 

1. We are all part of a much greater story than our own.
2. Every life is a gift, every child a miracle. In Divine terms, there is nothing cliché or run-of-the-mill about those words, but it is so easy to forget that. 
3. Life is vapor. (James 4:14)
4. This life withers and fades; God's Word never will. "The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord remains forever." (1 Peter 1:24)      
5. We will see our Little Man again. "I will go to him, but he will not return to me." (2 Samuel 12:23) "It is not the will of My Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." (Matthew 18:14)
6. Today, 25,000 parents around the world will lose a child. Tomorrow, 25,000 more. And the day after that. And the day after that. That doesn't make losing Luke any easier, but it does offer some perspective. 
7. Years ago, I remember praying, "Whatever it takes, Lord." I had no idea.
8. "Life is hard; God is good." (Alistair Begg)
9. Grief and brokenness, hope and joy can occupy the same heart. We do "not grieve as others do who have no hope." (1 Thessalonians 4:13)
10. Hope is not crossing your fingers or a wringing your hands. It's not sweating things out or waiting to see if everything is going to turn out alright. It's not a 50/50 proposition. It's definitely not a wish. Hope is future, but it's certain. It's "waiting and aching" (Al Andrews).
11. Assurance. "We rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:2) 
12. Transformation. "More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope." (Romans 5:3-4) 
13. Comfort. "And hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." (Romans 5:5) 
14. The harsh reality is that God does allow things in our lives that are far, far beyond our ability to handle... but His "grace is sufficient" and His "power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9) 
15. Death is horrible. God agrees. "The last enemy to be destroyed is death." (1 Corinthians 15:26)
16. Jesus said, "It is finished." Victory, then, is certain but it's not yet complete. For now, death stings. ""When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:54-55) Our hearts hope while our hearts hurt.     
17. Suffering is not anomalous to the Christian life. "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you." (1 Peter 4:12) "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake." (Philippians 1:29) 
18. World=tribulation and fear. Christ=Conqueror and peace-giver. "I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) 
19. On May 28, 2008 Nicol and I didn't care one iota about a dream house, dream cars, dream jobs, or anything else this world has to offer... just didn't matter. 
20. Some of the best counsel we've received: "Sink into the pit. It's okay." (Jan Silvius) Speaking not of giving in to despair, but rather of feeling the sorrow. And why not? Jesus was "a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief." (Isaiah 53:3) 
21. I have discovered the fine line between pouring my heart out to God (venting, if you will) and honoring Him while expressing my sadness and anger. Yes, my Father can handle it. And though it can be hurtful to this Daddy's heart, I too can handle it if Summer is disrespectful to me. But it is disrespectful nonetheless.   
22. ................

Finally...

Ok, so now that I have consistently broken the #1 rule in blogging--CONSISTENT UPDATES--I am finally going to bring you up to date after about 6 weeks of near silence (I say near silence because Tweets do count for something, right? And since I've mentioned Twitter, if you have an account, you can now follow both Nicol and I... she signed up a few weeks ago!).


Here's what I want to share for now:


--The big news, of course, is that we FINALLY closed on the house... as of Feb 19 we are no longer home owners!! What a relief and a what kind answer to prayer. I am still amazed that, after 16 months on the market, we got our first and only formal offer... in DECEMBER of all times. Homes don't usually sell in December, let alone in the current market!! But we are so grateful that ours did!!


--We would appreciate prayer as we consider our next steps. At this point it appears that there are 2 scenarios on the table: one, begin looking seriously for a house and to sort of hunker down here in the Nashville area; two, accept a proposal from my long-time friend and mentor to go to Maine and serve with him (for the summer months or perhaps a bit longer) at the church he has pastored for the past 15 years or so.


I am reminded that a third scenario is also on the table: that being anything that God may unexpectedly drop into our laps.


In any case, we are praying and processing and waiting and would be grateful for your prayers should God put us on your hearts in this way.


Peace.


Light Your World TODAY