This week is a sacred week to me. It’s a week that I allow myself to reflect … to remember … to feel. I allow myself the freedom to let my mind wander through many years of family memories. This week always takes me down memory lane more than any other week of the year. Don’t get me wrong, I treasure my memories of growing up around my Granny’s house & all of our family right there in our little corner of the world.
But this week … for 31 years now … takes me back.
God blesses each of us with one institution that has been around longer than any other – family. It doesn’t matter if we are married, single, have children or not. We all come from a family. I know there’s many ways to define a family these days, but my definition in this post is my bloodline family.
You see, 31 years ago my Aunt’s life was taken by a drunk driver of an 18-wheeler truck. It was quick, unforeseen and unimaginable. I’m sure that everyone in my family remembers “where they were” when we received the tragic news. I was beginning my junior year of high school and was at band camp preparing for our marching season. I don’t remember much of what happened prior to one of my cousins coming to pick me up early & tell me of the wreck. But in the midst of the fog of tragedy, I still remember the anxious feeling I had when I saw my cousin instead of my Daddy (who was taking some vacation time to work around the house).
I really don’t know what direction the rest of this post is taking, so I’m relying on God for my words ...
We always hear that “time heals all wounds”.
I will disagree.
“Time” does not heal … God does.
It does not matter if we have years and years and even more years to heal from a tragedy. We can have all the time in the world … but without God in our hearts & lives, we will never be able to fully heal. One of my favorite passages is found in II Corinthians 1 (KJV) …
3Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 5For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
Oh what a promise -- to have “the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort” by our side to comfort us through any circumstance we go through. But there’s one catch …
we have to be open and receptive to God’s comfort.
He’s waiting with His arms wide open …
He wants to heal & comfort …
He wants to bring us to Him.
His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts.
He alone is The Peace that passes all of our understanding.
So, this week I allow myself to just be still and know that He is Lord ...
to savor family pictures and my memories … and to remember my Aunt.
Her legacy lives on. This week I allow myself to be engulfed in an array of emotions …
it’s also my Aunt’s birthday week …
nine days before I turned 16, her faith became sight …
she’s been worshiping her Savior for 31 human years …
she’s Home in Glory …
she’s forever in my heart.
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