What a glorious thing it is to have celebrated, once again, the life of our resurrected Savior. It is a nearly overwhelming thing to know that our very lives, souls & spirits belong to the One who has defeated death on every level imaginable.
It has been awhile since I have written, and that has been purposeful. One of my dear friends, Joyce, along with her family, celebrated the passing of her son, Kenny, this week. Kenny had been diagnosed with cancer a short while before Nick was diagnosed, and this week he won the battle by spending resurrection day in the very presence of the resurrected One. I have marveled to see, from afar, the grace and joy with which this family has dealt with the temporary sadness of being separated from their loved one. Kenny was and is in love with Jesus, and so are they. So, they will be together again in time. (I feel like breaking into a chorus or two of Blessed Assurance!)
Let me just say...If you do not understand how a Mom could have joy and peace at the passing of her son, please do not let another moment pass without talking with someone about that. Odds are that as you read this it made you think of someone that you have met who seems to have that peace when everyone else is falling apart. Call them. Call me. Whisper a prayer to ask God who you should call. Then call whoever comes to mind. Anyone who has that peace will be happy to drop whatever they are doing and talk to you about it.
Nick is doing very well. We are now counting down the days until he can come home. April 25th will be day 100, and that will be here before we know it. We still do not know what caused the three weeks of fever and sickness, but it is gone now. They did every test that the gaggle of brilliant minds could imagine, and could find nothing wrong with him. So, several doctors have called him the "million dollar workup boy." He seems to be a bit famous among the oncology circles here at Vanderbilt.
One of my major prayers since this all began was that God be glorified in this adventure. Who knows...maybe he needed to get famous in order to be remembered amongst the myriad of people who are treated here everyday. Regardless of the whys, our prayer remains the same: God be glorified!
As I have pondered what my friend and her family have gone through this week, my mind has returned to the desire of my heart. I know that it has been her's as well. Joyce is a gifted writer and communicator in a number of ways, and throughout their journey, her faith has been such an encouragement. A number of times during which both of our son's were critically ill, she went out of her way to give of herself to me. The love of God exudes from her every pore.
I do not understand why some of us have our days numbered shorter than others. I do, however, know that Kenny's life glorified God, and the testament of that life will continue to do so. So many of us struggle to find what we are "supposed to do" with our lives...when all we really want is to glorify God with the moments that we have. Even though that is sometimes done through seasons of adversity, it really should not be struggle...a surrender, yes...but not a struggle. I think that difference is control...who has it?..Us or God? Not one of us can control whether or not we have another breath, but we can make the choice to surrender to Him. If life is a struggle...it may be time to surrender.
It is well!
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