Last Saturday, Jim and I went to the funeral of a young man . . .a college student, an athlete, a Christian, a dearly loved son and brother. The pastor's eulogy, "The Empty Seat" was based on the passage, 1 Samuel 20:18: Then Jonathan said to David, "Tomorrow is the New Moon feast. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty." I couldn't help but think about all the 'empty seats' in my life, and the tears started to flow. But, the pastor admonished all to "press on"! Yes, the grief is hard! Yes, I can't sleep, can't eat, can't stop crying! But, I will press on!
God is good! God is in control! God has a plan! I used to think of those words as cliches, simplistic proverbs that couldn't fill the empty void in my heart. Now, I see them as truths that I must take hold of to be a good steward of the grief God has given me.
"Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow". Deuteronomy 5:33
Joni, you are very brave. You have inspired me. I had not thought that the journey we are on is a gift from God to draw us closer to Him, but now I have twice in as many days. "Open wide my door to whatever makes me love you more."
ReplyDeleteI don't feel very brave, Leigh. . .most of the time I find myself feeling quite scared! Thank you for walking with me!
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