January 12, 2020 thoughts and quotes
More than two years have come and gone since Nate was called home. Not a day goes by, not an hour, really, without thinking about him. Different things will trigger memories, but even without those triggers we are always thinking about him.
I try to visit Nate’s physical resting place each week, usually on Sunday mornings before church. This morning the air was crisp. Yesterday’s “blizzard” turned out to be a dusting of snow. The ground was white with snow, the grass slightly poking through. As I sat in the car a few feet away from Nate, God nudged me to send out notes to some of his former classmates. For them, life goes on with the new adventures of college, relationships, etc. I know that some of them are already experiencing the trials of life in new ways. I’m thankful that Nate is safe to shore, and try to encourage those I keep in touch with.
We are all making our way to eternity. My hope and prayer is that you are making your way “towards that country where there is neither sin nor pain, malady nor sorrow.”
“ If we happen to lie awake in midnight darkness, and count the tedious hours ones after another in a mournful succession, under any of the maladies of nature, or the sorrows of this life, let us comfort ourselves that we are not shut up in eternal night and darkness without hope, but we are still making our way towards that country where there is neither sin nor pain, malady nor sorrow.” ~ Isaac Watts
“ Lord, I admit that some of my resentment of those who wrong me is tinged with envy. They live as they choose, and they seem happier than I am. But that is an illusion. Evil is like cancer cells—they grow, but only toward collapse and destruction. Help me see that clearly, so I can forgive them and not be tempted by them. Amen.” ~ Tim Keller
“ It is a merciful Father who strips us when we need to be stripped, as the tree needs to be stripped of its blossoms. He is not finished with us yet, whatever the loss we suffer, for as we loose our hold on visible things, the invisible become more precious—where our treasure is, there will our hearts be.” ~ Elizabeth Elliott
“ Do not hesitate. Give yourselves wholly to your Lord to be prepared for whatever He has chosen for you to do.” ~ Amy Carmichael.