In my time with the Lord this morning my heart was breaking for someone I do not know personally, but who has touched my life many times. Steven Curtis Chapman, one of the greats of Christian music, and his family are facing something no one ever wants to face. After the joy of his oldest of six children getting engaged this past weekend, his 5 year old daughter, the youngest, was killed when she was hit by a SUV driven by her teenage brother. I cannot imagine the pain and hurt their family is facing, especially this brother. Please lift this family up in your prayers.
The Upper Room devotion today touched on the things we treasure on earth. I would imagine for many of us we treasure our family and loved ones above and beyond any gold or material possession. So how do we respond to the loss of the treasures of our loved ones?
In the world we live in tragedy happens. We can also remember those in Asia again where close to 200,000 have died from disasters, leaving loved ones with this loss. And how we respond to this loss depends a lot on our faith. As a chaplain of a retirement home for 2 years, where we averaged about 3 deaths a week I saw many families deal with this grief (although these were not as tragic since many had lived long lives). And as I also talked with other chaplains and doctors, every one would say you can always tell the difference between a family with faith and a family without faith. There are different responses from those two kinds of families. Usually there are tears, sorrow and sadness from both, but a family with faith usually has a little more laughter, a few tears of joy, and always some hope.
We know we cannot take material treasures with us to heaven, but God will take the treasure of our loved ones to heaven if they have a relationship with Jesus. So I am reminded not to wait, but to be sure to share God with those closest to me. These are often the most difficult people to share something like our personal faith with, but it also brings the greatest reward. All other treasures will be lost, but the treasure of those we love can go with us.
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My attempt to connect each day with God and his people.
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About Me
- Pastor James
- I am married to the beautiful and talented Helen. We have two wonderful children that keep us on our toes. Together we pastor St. Paul's UMC in Williamsburg, Iowa, a congregation that is growing and following God's great adventure.
2 comments:
This morning we found out that one of the victims of the Parkersburg tornado was a good friend of ours, Ray Meyocks. Ray had many struggles over the years. He was a recovering alcoholic, one of his daughters is currently in prison for theft, he went through a terrible divorce. On the other hand, Ray was a person of joy. He found love again in his forties, he reveled in his grandchildren, and he loved the Lord. He was a hard working fella that always had a smile on his face and a joke in his back pocket. We will miss him as others will miss those they have lost in all the recent tragic events. Our sadness is that over the years, we had not seen much of Ray. Hadn't bothered to pick the phone up and call. Now this is our lesson to learn today for John and I and I hope you too. Take that extra minute to give a friend a holler. Really listen to your children when they tell you a story. Call your mother. Things to do that bog our day down can always be done tomorrow. We are only here as long as He allows. Jeanie
Jeanie,
thanks for the reminder to cherish everyday with our loved ones.
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