that day
That day for me is fast approaching. What day is that? That day is April 8th, and it will always be both a sad and a happy day. That is the day my precious husband of 33 years breathed his last breath while I was holding his hand, along with our youngest daughter, Malory and his brother John. If you have lost someone close to you and have been with them in their final moments, you know what a special but very hard moment that can be. At least it was for me.
In that moment I knew my life was forever going to change. The life I thought we were going to live together for 50 plus years, I was now going to live without him. It made sense to me that we should have 50 plus years since our parents at that time each had 50 plus years of marriage each. I mean it only seemed fair and we had talked about having that ourselves. We had plans to continue doing ministry and grow old together. But as life goes, my life was changed forever in that moment. This is the sad part for me, but also happy because we did have 33 years together.
The happy part is that he is no longer in pain, no longer tired, and no longer not himself. He is forever healed from this world and the sickness it brings. He is rejoicing daily with his Heavenly Father. He is in his forever home. He is where he always talked about going and couldn’t wait to meet Jesus face to face. I know in that first moment he met Jesus everything fell into place.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 4 “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance…”
Mark was born and has died. We have wept, we have laughed, and we will forever mourn his loss, but we are dancing because he is at the feet of Jesus. I will be there one day with my Savior and see Mark again. But until that day I will look forward to January 6, the day Mark was born so I can celebrate the wonderful life he lived. I will also look forward to April 8, the day he went to his real home to be with Heavenly Father.
As I am writing this, I am surrounded by 2 of my daughters, one son-in-law, and three grandchildren. I will see Mark’s parents and sister in a couple of days. I am in Colorado where Mark was born and a place he loved. The mountains surrounding me are covered with snow and when I am here it makes me think of him. We will celebrate his life with laughter and some tears this weekend, and on Monday it will mark 3 years of him being gone. I will have a moment sometime that day to grieve Mark not being here, but I will also be so thankful for his life and the life we had together. It just so happens that I have been able to be with the girls in Colorado the last two years on the anniversary of his passing and again this year minus one daughter. I count that as a blessing.
When that day for you is coming make sure you surround yourself with those who love you most and those who you love. I know not everyone needs to be surrounded with loved ones but for me I love them being with me. I do take a moment for myself but mostly I enjoy my family remembering Mark with me!
Confident in His love,
Isaiah 54:10
