I woke up this morning dreading today...the day of my Father In Law's memorial service. But, it turned out to be such an uplifting day. We got to the church around 11:30 am, had lunch with all of the family and then got ready for visitation at 1pm. I won't lie...I spent most of the time in the church nursery playing with Noah (he wasn't in the greatest mood today) so I didn't "visit" with people as much as my husband did. My parents got to the church and offered to watch Noah while Caleb and I went upstairs to the memorial service; which worked out great. All of the family was seated and the service I was so greatly dreading began. But, it wasn't sad like most of the funerals I've been to were...which only really celebrated the death of the individual who had passed away. Today was DIFFERENT....GOOD DIFFERENT. It didn't ritualize the death, but the life; not only the life of Chuck and all of his accomplishments, but an eternal life with Christ in Heaven. So many people spoke about the godliness that surrounded him throughout his life...some of the words to describe him were honesty, faithfulness, loving....and the list goes on and on.
After the service ended, so many people came up to hug us and give us their love, prayers and support. Many of these people Caleb and I had not seen in over a year...but it truly was a happy reunion. God continues to show us each day that we are surrounded by friends...some we didn't even know we had! *smile* After all of the greeting was done and we were ready to head home, I spent a few minutes thanking God for the day. So thankful for the uplifting service, the kind words, but most especially for my salvation...knowing that one day (not so far away) I will be reunited with not only Chuck but all of my friends and family who have already joined Christ in Heaven. That reminds me of something my husband stood up and said during the service...he spoke to the crowd gathered together to remember Chuck "All of you call yourselves his friend...keep it that way!" He then went on to witness to everyone there, asking that if they hadn't received Christ into their hearts, that they do so, so that they could one day join his Dad in Heaven. It melted my heart when my husband spoke those words today...he could have said anything he wanted to about his Dad, but instead, he chose to witness in the same way his Dad had always done...absolutely beautiful! :-)
If that wasn't enough to cheer me up, my Mom called me when we were on our way back home and said the doctors had finally figured out what was wrong with my Grandma. She has what they call and "overactive thyroid" so they are putting her on medication to fix the problem. I was so relieved....and we know for sure it's not her heart because the results of her stress test showed that her heart is fine...in perfect working order. It's just the thyroid that was causing the heart palpitations, anxiety attacks, and chest pain...along with several other issues she had been having. That just made my day knowing that she is being released from the hospital tomorrow...PRAISE THE LORD!
After the long, exhausting day we had, we made a quick decision and decided to head out to Burlington before going home. We bought the infant car seat which matches the new double stroller we purchased...so we are ready for Haleigh to get here. And speaking of that, we have 5 weeks left to go, as of this upcoming Monday. And that's if I don't go into labor on my own...so it could be as few as 3 weeks. WOW!!! God sure has a way of lifting one's spirits after a terrifyingly long week.
Before I go, I would like to ask that you continue to pray for peace and healing for the family...losing a spouse, parent, friend etc. is always difficult, but God's healing hand can make it better. Also, if you don't mind, continue to pray for Haleigh and I and that we both remain healthy and make it through labor and delivery safely. Thanks to you all!!
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