What I really
wanted to focus on is how much the Lord cares for the families that have lost a
loved one whatever their age might be. I am amazed again and again
how the Lord will go out of His way in so many ways to show or send comfort both in our family and so many other families that have
experienced it. I’m trying to figure out
how to word this so that you can actually understand it with your heart. Because every special thing the Lord does
seems so normal after it has happened even though before the prayer is answered
it seems impossible.
Jake had a couple
of weeks of almost sinking into despair and God sent Roderick to him in a
dream, just showing Jake how happy Roderick is.
When the images in the forefront of Jake’s mind were all about the body
so lifeless underneath the earth in the cemetery or his lifeless body last seen
in his room, and it just didn’t seem possible to dig up those happy images of
Roderick in heaven, God sent Roderick to Jake in a dream showing him that
Roderick is actually alive and happy.
One morning about a
month after Roderick left, I prayed “God I cannot have Roderick back but please
could You continue to show us how he has impacted lives” and that same day we
received a card by mail with a letter of how Roderick’s story and the service had
dramatically impacted their lives.
God will bring the
strangest yet most awesome thoughts of comfort.
One time while helping out my sister I was praying for God’s favour in
their family and two days later she shared how incredibly God had shown His
favour and done a miracle in their life and I just broke down crying and quickly
picked up the book that I had just read “Heaven is for Real”. I turned to the page where Colton told his
mom that he had seen God shoot down power when his dad was preaching. I said, ‘Roderick saw God shoot power down
when I prayed for favour for my sister”.
Since that I often pray that God will shoot power down to whatever I’m
praying for.
Another way the
Lord has shown His compassion is just by blessing the things we do to help us
in our grief journey. When a friend
suggested doing a Roderick Rempel floor hockey tournament to raise money for a
scholarship in memory of Roderick we jumped in and helped with that. It was such a good way to again celebrate Roderick
and it helps to keep him close. Our goal
was to raise $2,000 dollars on that first tournament, if we could do that we
did well. God multiplied that by
10. It wasn’t like we needed all that
money but God just wanted to send down more kisses, more hugs and more love to
show us that He really really cares and He used people to do it. Loving, compassionate, kind people.
Another time I
wanted to do a bon fire for Roderick’s classmates, since that’s what Roderick had
intended to do this spring. With the
encouragement of a friend I did it even though it was summer and I knew a lot
of them were traveling. I thought if a
couple of Roderick’s friends show up we would have fun. Well, thirty kids showed up. Again God used Roderick’s friends to show us
how much He cares.
Just after Roderick left I walked into the
bank and the lady at the teller looked me in the eye and said something very
kind and compassionate. I walked out and
asked my sister, is it really that obvious that I’m grieving, she said, "I
don’t think so why?" Well the lady in
there was a complete stranger yet she looked at me with such compassion and
kindness, what she said made me feel like she knew.
I could go on and
on of the people God will send to show compassion. The most unlikely yet such loving and
compassionate people will come give a hug or say something encouraging.
I find so many out of the ordinary things happen and God makes them
happen in out of the ordinary ways or places so that we will not miss His
love. Having said that though we can
sometimes still be so rapped up in ourselves that we miss it.
After telling all
these stories I realize we should be the happiest people on earth to be so
surrounded by love yet it is so painful and we miss Roderick so very much. I don’t understand why it has to be this way
but as pastor Jono encouraged us back months ago at Roderick’s service, we
choose to focus on the statements we know to be true rather than on the
questions that we can’t find answers for.
And the truth is that God loves us so very much and He wants to be up
close and personal, every life is valuable to God and heaven is for real. God is grieving with us.
Lisa everything you have said and done have made Heaven so much closer and this week I have needed that. You are such a blessing to me.
ReplyDeleteThanks Renee, I cherish your friendship
ReplyDelete