Hello everyone,
My 19 year old daughter, in perfect health, a freshman at UC Berkely, passed away suddenly this past monday. The cause of death was a major blod clot that stopped her heart. I am here in Portland, OR working with family to plan the funeral.
The bible tells us to "count it all Joy", at times like this, it seems unreachable....but the Bible and God tell us also to grieve. John 11:35 says, "Jesus wept". It is the shortest verse in the bible and it was at the time when Jesus was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. When He saw the grief of everyone, Jesus cried with them..... knowing that in a few moments He was going to fix the situation, He still agonized with them.... Jesus is weaping with us now, and He also knows the glory on the other side of the ashes.
Each day is hard, but with each batch of tears, and prayer and the Love of God, we're all getting by. I have been praying to see God in all this and I have. The outreaching of so many of you had made it clear that a deep pool of Love is there in people, my friends, and people that I don't even know that gets tapped into at a time like this. People don't know what to say, but the fact that they reach out shows the love in their heart. There is noting that you can say at a time like this, but just saying, "I'm here, I hurt for you and You're in my prayers" is the most amazing medicine you can provide.
God also shared with me some scripture. On my way to the airport in New Orleans, God put Psalm 46:10 in my heart, "Be still and know that I am God". It was clear and comforting. On the way up here, I must have said it a thousand times and each time, it was comforting. During the week, the verse was powerful in my mind. When we went to meet with the Pastor to plan the service, their church has a sign out front where they post messages...... the message on the sign......you gessed it...."be still and know that I am God". So for knucklehead football players like me, that is God saying....Hey, I want you to pay attention to this....Be Still and Know that I AM GOD.
God has our backs, we aren't supposed to understand all this right now, We are here to Grieve, and cry out to God for comfort and know, without a doubt, that HE is GOD and has all of this figured out....When it's time for us to know, we will... until then....it's all about FAITH.
God bless you all, may the peace of Christ invade your hearts in a way that you never could have imagined. I love you.
jeff
My 19 year old daughter, in perfect health, a freshman at UC Berkely, passed away suddenly this past monday. The cause of death was a major blod clot that stopped her heart. I am here in Portland, OR working with family to plan the funeral.
The bible tells us to "count it all Joy", at times like this, it seems unreachable....but the Bible and God tell us also to grieve. John 11:35 says, "Jesus wept". It is the shortest verse in the bible and it was at the time when Jesus was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. When He saw the grief of everyone, Jesus cried with them..... knowing that in a few moments He was going to fix the situation, He still agonized with them.... Jesus is weaping with us now, and He also knows the glory on the other side of the ashes.
Each day is hard, but with each batch of tears, and prayer and the Love of God, we're all getting by. I have been praying to see God in all this and I have. The outreaching of so many of you had made it clear that a deep pool of Love is there in people, my friends, and people that I don't even know that gets tapped into at a time like this. People don't know what to say, but the fact that they reach out shows the love in their heart. There is noting that you can say at a time like this, but just saying, "I'm here, I hurt for you and You're in my prayers" is the most amazing medicine you can provide.
God also shared with me some scripture. On my way to the airport in New Orleans, God put Psalm 46:10 in my heart, "Be still and know that I am God". It was clear and comforting. On the way up here, I must have said it a thousand times and each time, it was comforting. During the week, the verse was powerful in my mind. When we went to meet with the Pastor to plan the service, their church has a sign out front where they post messages...... the message on the sign......you gessed it...."be still and know that I am God". So for knucklehead football players like me, that is God saying....Hey, I want you to pay attention to this....Be Still and Know that I AM GOD.
God has our backs, we aren't supposed to understand all this right now, We are here to Grieve, and cry out to God for comfort and know, without a doubt, that HE is GOD and has all of this figured out....When it's time for us to know, we will... until then....it's all about FAITH.
God bless you all, may the peace of Christ invade your hearts in a way that you never could have imagined. I love you.
jeff
