#87of365 #FaithBites #FaithJourney

Today’s lesson is one the father and remembrance. My dad passed nine years go today. It was snowy and cold.i remember that clearly as I told the hospice nurse we had to put him in a sweater to stay warm. (And yes, I realize the silliness of that now and it wasn’t lost on my siblings).

I remember the look in his eyes when he came to after being unresponsive for nearly a day. He looked at me, I told him it was ok, and he passed.

I remember the emptiness. Our family not being sure how to stick together now the focal point was gone. We aren’t perfect but we try.

I remember when I found out my wife was pregnant with my first daughter and how I longed to tell dad. I remember when both children were born, how I would give anything for one day for them to meet their grandpa.

Dad wasn’t perfect. Nor are any of us. I know he loved us and that is what matters.

I know through my faith, I will see him again.

“But your dead will live, Lord;
    their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust
    wake up and shout for joy—
your dew is like the dew of the morning;
    the earth will give birth to her dead. – Isaiah 26:19

“ But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’^[He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” – Luke 20:37-38

God is not god of the dead. When we die, it is our physical bodies that cease. Our spirit is eternal. We wwil dwell in his house forever. My God us the God of my father. I sense him all the time: from my kids stubbornness, to their enormous heart, to their twisted sense of humor. He is with me and them. He is my father and set.me on my course for life here. God is my heavenly father and set me on my course for eternity

Are you willing to believe in Jesus’ promise of the next life? Are you willing to accept life her is short filled with joy and sadness, including loss, but the next one is never ending peace, happiness, and love?

I am willing (with the help of God)