Evening January 10th, 2015 Thank you for your concern, love and prayers expressed in so many touching comments. Yesterday no matter how much I tried to see it as just another day, it was anything but another day. What I did has been done by far too many Mommas and Dads. That is where I am now. Im in a place that love for those that have walked my path is very large and offered to those who might read this writing. To the countless others I will never know but I know their wanderings on this very difficult journey, I too offer my prayers and care. My offerings seem to be so little, but it is the spirit of He who loves me that I offer. Through God there is much more that can palliate the torn heart and wrenched soul. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38,39 I have been tried sorely in this year and it does not end just because a year has passed. What has happened is that strength has been given, love has grown, and joy in sorrow has been observed, held, examined and accepted. Whatever one does in this kind of journey is a choice. We are people of free choice with God, nothing can take that from us. With this choice, there is a great shadow that will follow me everywhere I go. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 6: 1 Nothing I say is worth the dust on God’s sandals if it is not said in God’s honor. It is not me that speaks, I am but a small voice and that is all I am. Always ask who am I doing this for, me or for God? If the answer is not God, then it is time to stop writing and it is time to fall to my knees and seek mercy. The tenor of this writing is changing and I think it needs to change. I am led to move on, to keep looking ahead. I shall not forget where this journey started, but it is not the reason I am living. It is the reason I am moving on. There will always be tears, there will always be moments that remind me of what I am trying so hard to see in the context of this new journey. But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the kings food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. Daniel 1: 8 For Catholics and some other Christian denominations Lent begins on February 18th of this year as observed by certain Western denominations. Lent is when many Christian’s preparation begins for Easter Sunday. I am Southern Baptist, but the way I grew up, the way I made my way through life has influenced my Christian attitudes as much as my religion has influenced me. Although Southern Baptist do not practice Lent, they do recognize the season for what it is. I won’t get into a religious discussion, that isn’t what I am trying to do with what I am writing. Shirley and I observe the Lent season with our own repentance, our own time of prayer and fasting. We have practiced the Daniel Fast for a number of years now. We will do it again this year with deeper understanding of the grace we have been given and the mercy that God has given us by holding our daughter in His spirit. We don’t deny the Southern Baptist view of Lent as an extra practice beyond scriptural basis and again I am not trying to start an argument. I am pretty sure we aren’t the only Southern Baptist that practice a personal time of reflection with fast to honor God and to focus our view on Christ. Here in the Gulf Region of the south, most people know about Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras. The next day is Ash Wednesday and that is when Lent begins. This is forty-six days before Easter Sunday. Many think that it is just forty days until Easter. The Sundays that fall within Lent number six and they are not part of Lent, so that is how Lent became known as the forty days before Easter. In any event we try and fast, pray, and study on the meaning of our grace. The Daniel Fast can be better understood if one will take a little time to look into it. We feel better physically after the fast and enjoy the meaning it brings to our life. I wouldn’t tell anyone to do anything they aren’t comfortable doing. I have no authority to speak about anything from a scriptural basis. With that said, I am a believer and I sure wouldn’t do something that would reflect badly on God. Today I am going to see family and friends. We are gathering here at the house for dinner. It is Shirley’s idea and it is a good idea. There is a quiet in our aloneness today that is too hard to bear separately. Time will help, family will help. What more can one do except gather in friendship and love? I am tired in my heart and mind, but joyful in my knowledge that God is good. Dad
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 20:50:04 +0000
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