I Didn't Know...

I didn't know many things when I came to college.

I didn't know you could have so much fun with friends.

I didn't know friends could care so much when you cried.

I surprised myself with coming to love my friends very much. Now I'm bearing the awful affects of doing this. For saying good bye is very, very, hard thing to do, but if this is the only consequence I must suffer for my friendships than I feel it is a very small price to pay.

I must only live in this sadness for a short while, for someday we will all be together forever and ever in Glory. Good bye will never be in our vocabulary than. And I think I like that idea very much.

A Life Hidden in Christ

Today I got a phone call. One of those calls that makes a person wish they had never picked up the phone. Yet as it has been for many decades, the deliverance of news already happened is unavoidable.

I cried when I heard that a very dear friend of mine was in glory. Tears fell just as they had when I heard he was dying of an incurable brain tumor. A fight with cancer over as soon as it had begun, leaving on the battle field a mourning wife, four children and their spouses, a host of grandchildren, one great grandchild and a church congregation with a gaping hole.

Mr. B. was my Sunday School teacher-- every lesson was taught with enthusiasm. More than likely Mr. B. enjoyed teaching even more than he did learning. Pouring over the scriptures and then receiving extra information from accompanying maps was not something the teacher shied away from.

Teaching Sunday school was not Mr. B’s only service to our tiny country church. I remember the sad Sunday when Mr. B. was no longer the song leader. The worship service still feels somewhat incomplete.

Mr. B. helped build our church. Later he served on the building committee, making plans to accommodate our ever growing congregation. Sadly the many hours of plans being made by Mr. B. will never bear the fruit of work by his hand. I don't think he will miss seeing the new church, seeing as now he is living in a mighty fine mansion over the hilltop.

I'll never forget the Sunday morning Mr. B. told the church that his unsaved family member had been saved. Mr. B. couldn't hardly retell the events for his voice was too full of emotion. His face was wet with tears. Sharing a prayer request about an unsaved relative or friend from Mr. B.’s lips was not uncommon. His heart was tender towards those who had not yet found their Savior. Very soon someday the two relations will be together in heaven because of Mr. B.’s witness.

Hardly uncommon at is it to hear people remark how they will miss a loved one’s smile. Cliche as it may sound, I have to say I will miss Mr. B.’s smile. The great works done by Mr. B. characterized him yet it was the warm smile and the genuine interest in your life that truly showed off his love for the Lord Jesus Christ. Words of affirmation often were given, special music will never receive the same praise again without Mr. B.’s "amen".

In a small church you associate more the body of Christ than with your own family. Mr. B. was a grandpa figure to me. I hardly knew my own grandpas- both died before I could reap lessons from their rich character. I feel honored and blessed I could know Mr. B. . Praise to the Father above that one day I will worship with Mr. B. together at our Lord’s feet. Thinking of this fills my heart with joy.

Now I'm sad. In a few short weeks I will be home from college and worshiping at my home church once again. An empty spot in a pew will be unbearably void, a seat used so often it might have remained warm from Sunday to Sunday. I can't bear to think of not seeing the fa miler smile nor hear the taken for granted "amens". a loved parishioner is gone, leaving behind an awful ache in our church family. One thing is certain Mr. B. would be the first to tell us to dry our tears for if we have believed we are heading to a place of no tears.

Mr. B. I'll miss you terribly. I just want you to know one thing. Reflecting on your life has drawn me to one conclusion--looking at your works does not extoll yourself but instead brings glory and honor to Christ our risen Savior.

¹ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Col 3:1-4

Gone...but only from Our Sight

I watched as the hearse slowly pulled out of our driveway. Grandma was leaving what had been her home for the last several years for the last time. In truth she had left hours before when took her last breath and at long last met her Savior face to face. Her body in deteriorating shape was no longer a prison but now only shell; having served grandma very well during her 96 years of life.

I felt very selfish during the days and hours following that beautiful Sunday morning. I wished to see grandma's face light up once more as I stopped in for a visit. I wanted to scoop up the frail hand and let's its warmth fill my heart one more time. Times like those are gone now. Sorrow and joy are left in their place. Lots of joy.

How can we help but rejoice. I imagine that grandma's smile never leaves her face now. Grandma is running with the children that left this earth before they could even be named. There is the One who knew grandma better than any of us. Grandma sought after Him her whole life always looking for a opportunity to follow the Lord's command. Whether it was passing out tracks with her home baked cookies on Halloween. Serving faithfully for years at the Source of Light Bible Correspondence school. Or just the chance to worship with other believers. Grandma now is spending every possible moment with the Lord she longed for all her life. Just the tinniest thought of what Grandma is doing now makes me happy. Yet there is sorrow.

Moments are long gone of stories shared from the past. I miss eating the yummy bakery items from her fridge. Late night visits because everyone else was in bed I found very comforting. Good night kisses were the best because I rarely got them anywhere else. Grandma was notorious for frugal ways. Living through depression meant grandma knew how to make the most of everything.

At first glance it may have appeared grandma lived a life of not enough, but that is what the world would see. Riches, grandma had more wealth than most her age. When grandma slipped away to glory 10 children, 48 grandchildren, and 95 great grandchildren mourned her death. Grandpa who waited patiently 2 years to marry his bride welcomed grandma along with 2 of the children gone before.

Memento's to remember grandma have been bestowed on us but it's just stuff that one day we too shall leave. No the real treasure is vibrantly living and breathing. Carrying on grandma's legacy until we shall meet triumphantly meet in the clouds.

A christian legacy means more than looking back and remembering the blessings of our loved one's life; it also means looking ahead and recognizing that our loved one has gone before us and given us a pathway of faith to follow.
Roy Lessin

Grandma enjoying breakfast with one of her great granddaughter's.

Our Lord is There

No! No! I thought this couldn't be true it just couldn't. Sadly it was, my brother called asking me if I had "heard the news" and I knew something was wrong. He talked to dad, little while later I found out "the news". A young man had been killed in a tragic farming accident. Leaving his wife of less than 3 years, his baby son. Many things I hear makes me sad. My eyes often fill with tears, but this time I sobbed. For the young wife now a widow caring for her son alone.
This young man like anyone that leaves this earth will not go without leaving a hole. Families around here are large and everyone has many 1st, 2nd, 3rd cousins. There are few that are not affected, he was my 3rd cousin. He was a song leader at the local Mennonite church. The same church where both sides of his families attend. I cannot imagine the grief the church is going through.
I don't need to imagine, nearly the exact some tragedy happened to our church several years ago. Trial of fire it was, the grace of our Lord brought us and the family through.
All of my uncles have been in farming accidents including my father. Several other people we know have also been affected by the dangers of the farming business. My mother has often said she chooses not to think of the "what ifs". Everything is in the sorviun hands of our LORD. Still I cannot but wonder why? Perhaps this is why,

Erwin Lutzer makes the statement in his book Your Eternal Reward, “We want life to be smooth, secure, uninterrupted. God has a different agenda. He is purifying us, testing us, training us so that we might be presented to Him as a pure church, ready to take our place sitting next to Christ on His throne.” That reminds me of another well read author, the Apostle Paul who writes in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 “For our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.”