About a month ago, a very close friend of mine suddenly passed away leaving behind his wife (one of my very best friends) and three small children. Anytime you attend a funeral for such a man, it is of course a heart wrenchingly sad time ... but when he was a man of God and you have no doubt about his place in Heaven that sadness is intertwined with joy ... joy for the man whose body no longer limits him or causes him pain or discomfort, joy for the man who was forgiven and gets to meet the One who pardoned him, and joy for the man who is in a place so amazingly wonderful he would never come back here even if he could. That is how I felt about Mike on that day. How I feel about those he had to leave behind here on earth is of course a different story ... it is very difficult to find the joy in the hole left behind in their lives by his passing. But how I found comfort on that day and now is through this picture that I have ... it tells me they will be "okay" somehow ...
This is a picture of my friends' youngest child ... she is three. As you can imagine, her Daddy's passing must have been and still is confusing ... the change in routine for those many days afterwards, the not so familiar people in and out of their house, seeing Mommy and others so sad, and attending these "services" ... how does a three year old process all of that?? Well let me tell you ... she goes to the Light ... even at three she knows to do that. That is the legacy her Daddy left her with and her Mommy carries on for her. In the hustle and bustle before the funeral service this little girl trodded off to this small area of the church with her earthly comforts ... her blanket and her paci ... and basked in the glow of this light. She was immovable for a time and fairly insistent that it was where she wanted to be ... and she didn't really want anyone with her in that moment ... just her and the Light. It is nice to have people and things that bring us comfort in this world, but in the end there is nothing like the comfort that comes from God shining His light on you ... even this three year old knows it. And it is my prayer that she will be filled with that knowledge her whole life ...
John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Stay warm everyone!!!
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