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.”

Happy Birthday Aunt Frieda

Tomorrow my dear great aunt would have celebrated her 99^th birthday a party was planned but Aunt Frieda passed up the invitation for something far better.

Two days before celebrating her birthday Aunt Frieda was taken home to Jesus. She is celebrating today with her sister who went home just a few short months before her, with her only brother who died before adulthood, her parents, and the list goes on.

We nieces and nephews have many fond memories of Aunt Frieda. She never married so we were her children to spoil. The older one’s have fond memories of sleeping over at her house, with special things just for them. I remember the Aunt Frieda who took us out to eat getting us anything we wanted. Braum’s was always the place for dessert. Even if we had already indulged our sweet tooth’s Aunt Frieda always at least had to buy us ice cream (and a few other things!) to take home. Braums was probably as much as part of Aunt Frieda as brushing her teeth. She frequented the place so much that the employees eagerly recognized her.

I fondly remember cleaning for Aunt Frieda. It was so fun to clean her little apartment and then there were the breaks to have instant iced tea with lots of sugar. And the rare treat of store bought cookies. And did I mention I was getting paid by the hour?

Later as Aunt Frieda moved to the nursing home she became known for her sweet tooth. The nursing staff quickly found out that while Aunt Frieda didn’t have an appetite for much else she could eat 3 glazed doughnuts for breakfast. Indeed Aunt Frieda was known to empty a good amount of the sugar bowl into her coffee!

After Aunt Frieda’s move to the nursing home she declined slowly. Her hearing always bad grew worse till she was could barely understand anything. Her sight wasn’t any better; she preferred not to wear glasses because of comfort so it was hard for her. It was very hard to watch the dear sweet Aunt Frieda we had always known slowly decline till she didn’t even recognize us.

The afternoon before Aunt Frieda died I saw her. She was sleeping and did not look well. I kissed her and told her I loved her. It was the last greeting spoken to her by her beloved nieces and nephews.

In the morning received word that Aunt Frieda had died. And we rejoiced. This earth is nothing, we new Aunt Frieda’s pain and we were happy she was in a place where there is no pain or tears.

I feel it wouldn’t be out of order to bake a cake and eat it tomorrow in celebration of Aunt Freda’s home going. It is we that are missing the party not Aunt Frieda.

Picture taken at her 98th birthday last year. L to R, Grandma, Aunt Frieda, Myself.

About Feminine for Him

This blog will be full of little bit everything with all having one common flavor, feminine girly things. You will find recipes, cooking tips, frugal ideas, house cleaning tips, photos, inspirational pieces, and bits and pieces of a girl's journey through life to the cross. I hope to post daily perhaps even with a daily theme. I have introduced myself through my profile, although those who will be reading it are probably the ones who know me best! So that is what this blog is about although I would rather refer to it as a journal of my journey through life.

Only by His grace,
Bethanne