"Seasons" Part 2

Ok, so there is a bigger reason why I shared on this blog my article that I submitted to the paper back in January. It definitely was NOT to brag about my writing skills.

The same day that the article was in the paper was THE same day that my wife's Mom passed away. I had know for months that the article was going to be published on Janurary 31st. I had also known for months that Janice(mother-in-law) was battling lung cancer and, though there was hope for a full recovery or a miraculous healing, she was very ill. And literally that week had gone down hill very fast.

So that Saturday morning I read my article in the paper and shortly afterwards got the call from my wife Terri Lynn that her Mom had just died. Talk about a new season in life! Was it just a coincidence that they occurred on the same day literally moments apart? I think not.

Yes, my wife lost her Mom. My boys had lost their Grandma. And my father-in-law, Terry, had just lost his wife. And , YES , there would be tears and sadness. But there would also be some "celebration of life" laughter and some tears of joy.

You see, Janice had just recently come back to the LORD! Thusly, the tears of JOY! Jan was in Heaven with Jesus! How can you not celebrate that? Yes she is missed. Yes there are still some sad tears from time to time. And, yes, even though she is in a "better place" we are not. But there are also a lot of tears of joy when we think about how our long-suffering and amazingly-loving and merciful GOD got a hold of Jan's heart. God waited many years for Jan to come back "home" and then He took her HOME.

I will NEVER forget the time that I had to pull the car over to the side of the road for fear of wrecking because of the tears in my eyes. Terri Lynn wouldn't have been able to drive either because of all the tears in her eyes. You see, TL and I were on the phone with her Mom and she was sharing Bible verses with US. What?!?! Janice was preaching God's Word boldly! Wow! Talk about an answer to prayer. That is THE moment when I knew she had truly come back to Jesus after many years of being away. It was awesome.

And , yes, those of us that knew and loved Jan are in a different "season" now. And ,yes, there are still some occasional tears. But it will be OK.