Month: August 2024

Yesterday my husband and I went for two visitations at our local funeral home. Blessedly both took place at the same time and at the same location in two different rooms. One individual lived to 106 in relatively good health and his mind functioning pretty well and the other lived to 88 1/2. Neither visitation was sad. The family of the 106 year old seemed to recognize the blessing of living that long. There was much laughter. The visitation of the 88 year old was also filled with laughter. This family is made up of members who trust Christ with their eternity and trust that their mother/grandmother/great grandmother did the same. The laughter around her would have pleased her tremendously. Her son said her death was not sad nor bad. She had struggled with poor health for the last 5 years of her life though she did not complain about it.

That phrase that he used really struck a cord within me. It is the attitude that we should feel if we believe the Bible to be true and we worship God and trust that Christ is who He said He is. Under those circumstances it truly is not sad nor bad when we depart from this side of eternity. As we enter into this Labor Day weekend, if you have not trusted Christ read His Word. God’s Word truly tells you who He is. I pray that you will look at it, study it and truly seek. If you trust Christ, your visitation can truly be a celebration of life, both this side and the one just starting on the other side.

Seven years ago Texas experienced a very powerful hurricane named Harvey. I live 70 miles west of Houston so hurricanes are not unusual for me to experience. What was unusual about Harvey that stays in my mind is that there was another kind of storm going on in our family at the same time. My dad had been sick for a little over a year from a very rare blood cancer. It was a form between leukemia and lymphoma. 99 cases out of the entire country are diagnosed yearly and he was one. That is a very rare cancer. His final days on this side of eternity would be lived during the height of that storm. He died on August 27. Flood waters had prevented hospice getting to us and my sister and my mother and myself navigated through those final days without them. We administered drugs we thought would help during the day and were on our knees in the evening pleading for our Lord to take him home to end his suffering. In His mercy He did.

Whatever storms we are experiencing if we truly trust God with all things, He will give us the strength to see them through. We were never promised an easy time. None of us were guaranteed a long life though my dad had one. None of us were promised perfect health if we just believe. What we are promised is that we will not be alone and we will be strengthed to face what we must face and do what we must do. All that we do is to glorify the Lord. It is not about us but about Him! Praise God and thank Him for the strength He has given you this day.

The parable of the sower has always intriqued me. I believe it explains perfectly why some people fall away from Christ and it also explains why some never come to that point of accepting grace. It is so very important to be mindful of which type of seed are each of us going to be. The part that describes the seed falling among the thorns and the thorns choke out the seed can too closely resember each of us. Receiving a cancer diagnosis or experiencing the death of a child can really test us in that area. Blessedly and through grace alone, God carried me through each of us so I could rest completely in knowing that His perfect plan was still being woven and perfected in my life. He absolutely carried me through both.

It is eternity that matters above all us. This life is going to be difficult. There will be times of joy. There is afterall a time of sorrow and a time of joy. Heaven will not be a place of sorrow. Revelation states specifically there will be no more tears. I cannot express enough how much that carried me and filled me with hope the weeks and months after my son’s death. Please let it be enough for you. Let it fill you and give you hope as well as rest.

Today would have been my dad’s 93rd birthday. He was born in August, married in August (yesterday would have been his and my mom’s 65th wedding anniversary) and died in August of 2017. My dad was 86 when his life ended in this world. For his entire life, he was a good man but also a very controlling one. Things had to be his way. That sometimes made life challenging for my mom and also for myself and my siblings. He was also a very good dad. I really came to know that once I became a teacher and saw the various homes my students came from. My siblings and I were very blessed.

The best example for all of us of the perfect dad is our heavenly Father. Sometimes people get that mixed up. They look at their earthly father and decide their heavenly one must be as bad or as good. Our heavenly Father is far above the best example of a good dad and the opposite of a bad one. He is the one dads should try to imitate in raising their families. He is the One who supplies all our needs through His glorious riches. He is the One who wants the very best for us and that measurement is not the same as we see the very best. We can learn a lot from our true Father. We just need to spend time in His Word and praying in His presence.

I have a second cousin named Charlotte. She and I are one month apart in age. I knew her briefly as a child when she would visit my grandmother’s house. Her grandmother and mine were sisters. As adults we grew apart. A few months ago, I learned that she had stage 4 melanoma. It had spread to her brain, lungs, live and neck. She is currently undergoing immunotherapy and just completed radiation on the tumors in her brain. I have reached out and visited with her since her diagnosis.

It’s been wonderful in many respects as we have really gotten to know one another. She is doing really well. Her doctor is very pleased with her response to treatments. She feels no pain. She is not afraid to go somewhere and does some shopping. She is enjoying life as a nephew has taken her in and she helps with his small children. Most importantly, she has great love for God and often speaks of that assurance. She is an encouragement to me and hopefully will be to those of you diagnosed with cancer. To have it in so many organs is pretty advanced and yet she does not fret. She just enjoys life. That is an example of trusting in God’s Word and fruit of that decision. If you are not reading the Bible, read it. Choose to trust God’s Word. Choose to cling to it. Choose life.

Leonard and I were blessed with four beautiful children, three of which are still on this earth and one who has gone home in eternity. Our oldest son Aaron came out yesterday to help us with two projects. Although my husband is very capable of doing both, as he and I have both aged, it has become harder to motivate ourselves to tackle some things on our own. Some of you may understand. Later I marvelled at just how blessed we are to have adult children willing and seemingly happy to help us out.

Scripture records that children are a heritage of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is His reward. That is absolutely true which is why abortion is all the more tragic. Each life taken is a life that would have been a blessing to that parent and probably also to society. I read once that some of those children may have possessed the knowledge needed to find a cure for many cancers. Who knows? Those things to me are in the hands of God and can be accomplished through others if its His will but I understand the point the write was trying to make. Please join me in praying that our society recognizes the gift of children. I have certainly recognized it in my own.

There was a time in the early days of our marriage that I wondered if our marriage would survive. Two people could not be more different. It wasn’t like we were warned either. The pastor who married us did a personality test and informed us that we were the opposite on everything. We would either compliment each other’s differences, or it would be a constant struggle of power between us. I’m sorry to write that the latter is more accurate and at times it was really rocky.

Today we are 38 years into this marriage. We were blessed with four children, two wonderful daughters in law and seven adorable grandchildren. We have also experienced together the death of a young child as well as my own devastating cancer diagnosis. Yet God has preserved us. In many respects we are closer than we have ever been. I have come to learn that my husband is a fine man. He is a loving husband, very supportive and a good loving dad. Of course his grandchildren are the bomb. I questioned in the beginning how a marriage could work between us long term and today am so glad it has.

For 31 years I taught in a school setting, 29 of those in the public setting and 2 in private. Today is the first day back in our small town in the public school setting. I miss those days. I miss the feeling of exhileration of the first day. I miss getting to know the kids and laying down the law on the first day. There was a certain amount of stress but also a sense of belonging.

My life changed drastically in 2015 with my cancer diagnosis. All the plans I had to complete 32 years in the public school system went out the door. The only thing that was important was to fight my advanced cancer dagnosis and spend time with my family. Drawing deeper to God was an automatic. I miss those days but I have also grown a lot since those days. I have learned that my identity is not being the best teacher but testifying for the kingdom of Christ. In the end, it is my relationship and your relationship with Him that actually matters. If you do not have one, I strongly encourage you to read scripture and learn just who Christ is and what He did for you. Learn of God and the Holy Spirit. Place your identiy in the triune God. It is the best identiy you will ever have.

Are you one of those people who thinks that life is so boring? Why can’t there be change? We often think, “I do the same thing day after day. Sigh.”

It’s interesting how all of us at one poing or another have fallen into the above trap. At the time we really do think this way, especially in August when temperatures stay pretty consistant. The amount of rainfall or lack thereof also remains pretty consistant. However often when change comes, it is not a pleasant change. August in Texas can mean a hurricane. Yes we need the rain but the tornadoes and too much rain at one time can be a curse. Then we begin to wish boredom would come back. We desire to go back to the old normal. We are a fickle people. Blessedly, God is consistant. He never changes. The adage is He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. There is peace in that. We may change, but He will not. Trust in the One who does not change. That is the only way to find true peace despite any circumstances we find ourselves in.

All around we see our society shattering before our eyes. Men acting exactly as the Bible said they would when written more than 2000 years ago. Some things never change other than the sensation that things are getting far worse. Our type of government was built on the principle of working for a righteous and just people. That probably explains why we see so much corruption in it today.

There is hope for all of us. That hope is in the form of our savior. One who gave His life for us. One who holds the power of life for us after this life has passed. Whatever we are facing or going through, we can trust in our savior to sustain us. When this life ends, there is the eternal joy of that life. Something for each of us to rejoice over and greatly look forward. Meditate on it. Turn from negative news 24/7. This is something I try to remind myself of daily. Trust in the words written so many centuries ago. Truths that still hold true to this day.