Death and Dying

It has been two years since my sweet mom has gone to be with the Lord.  I will never forget July 5, 2008.  The weather was much like it is today. 

I always get a little sad when June and July roll around because it reminds me of the events that occurred leading up to my mom passing. 

June 28, 2008 my mom fell in the middle of the night.  It was around 4am and I could hear her calling out, "help, help!"  I ran down the hall to her room to find her on the floor in front of her closet door.  Apparently she had gotten confused in the middle of the night and thought that the closet door was the way to the bathroom (later we would find out it was due to a lack of oxygen from her disease).  Paul and I both tried to help her up and get her acclimated.  It took her a long time to catch her breath.  We had to turn her oxygen up to it's full capacity until she could finally breathe normal again. 

I will never forget that night.  I went back into my bedroom and just cried my eyes out.  Paul came and gave me a hug and I just let it go.  The tears were coming and I couldn't stop it because I knew in my heart that we were nearing the end of my moms journey with Pulmonary Fibrosis.  When she first came to live with us the doctors had given her 6mos. to a year to live.  We had just celebrated the year mark weeks before this incident.

As the Lord would have it, my mom passed away a week later.  I was able to be by her side when the Lord called her home.  Loving my mom into the Kingdom was an honor.  A blessing! 

I haven't met very many people my age that have lost both parents.  My dad passed away from complications with emphysema when I was 23 years old.  That was a  very difficult day as well...February 19, 1996.  Losing my dad was one of the hardest things in my life up to that point.  I literally thought I was going to lose it.  But one day after spending some time with the Lord I thought to myself, "I can't lose it now.  This is not the last tragedy I will face in life." 

You see the reality is...we are all like a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away (James 4:14).  We don't know what tomorrow holds. 

This is what inspires me to make a difference TODAY!  There are people out there that need the Lord and are searching for Him.  We can be the light! I can't think of any other blessing and honor than to lead others to our Great and Mighty King.  People are dying all around us...physically and spiritually.  

Who can you pray for today?  Who can you talk to today?  Make an effort to reach out to someone with God's love!  You will be blessed!

Cries

Some of you have emailed me and shared your heart with me. I was honored to beseech the Lord on your behalf last night and ask Him for covering over you.   I am truly honest when I say that I want to hear from you. Last night the Lord brought a song to mind.  It is on Amy Grants new Album, Somewhere Down the Road.  My good friend and mentor reminded me of it when she was sharing with me some hurts of her own yesterday. The Lord brought it back to mind when I was pouring out cries to Him last night.  I just started crying.  I have friends that are hurting and struggling.  Not losing hope, but hurting hearts. 

Life is HARD! We are not promised that things will be easy. Matter of fact we are actually guaranteed that things will be difficult. BUT we have a BIG GOD who is with us. He wants to hear our cries. It felt so good to just let out the tears last night as I went to the throne of God. A wise women once told me that "tears heal." And I must say that I felt a sense of healing last night. Refreshed, revived!


Click and  listen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nMvvoXa9Yk&feature=related

We pour out our miseries,
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are,
the honest cries of breaking hearts
are better than an halleluja

I think we can all agree that life is hard.  But what will we do when life gets harder?  Will we still stand for Christ and not waver?  Will we still have faith?  Will we live for Christ and not the world?

In  the book of Jeremiah he (Jeremiah) is starting to lose hope.  The people are not listening to the truth.  They are turning to other gods and chosing to listen to false prophets.  The Lord replies...

"If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out,
Then how can you compete with horses?
If you fall down in the land of peace,
How will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?"    Jeremiah 12:5

In other words, how will you do when the heat is turned up?  The Israelites were about to go into captivity and things were about to get really ugly for them.  The same is true for us.  I don't know when the Lord would chose to come back for His people, but I do know that before He comes it will get pretty ugly.  We have a choice.  My prayer is that we would chose to run with the horsemen. 

Keep the faith my friend.  Let's keep beseeching the Lord on one another's behalf.  Let's lock arms and encourage one other daily to stand for the Lord and not give into the things of this world.  And when things are bad and you don't know how to sing, just cry out to the Lord!  It's better than an Hallujah sometime!

Praying for you,

Kerry