Do you ever have days where you answer someone who asks you how your day has been with an answer like, “It’s been one of those days!” For me, today has not been one of those days. This day has been a melancholy day and an exciting day all at the same time. It is definitely a day that has been filled with emotion, even overflowing with those emotions. Even roller coaster-like emotions, including all the highs and all the lows.
May 1 is the same day that Jody and I traveled back to Texas from North Carolina after our stint there in 2021. I can’t believe it really. We were in Charlotte for seven months while Jody was recuperating from his medical crisis. Some would say that it has been a long time, but for us it seems like yesterday. Jody is doing well and we are so grateful for the “bonus” days that God has allowed us to have, but it is hard not to re-live some of the experiences that we’ve been through.
A terrific thing that happened is that today the book was published. I had started writing about our journey while in North Carolina when I felt God leading me to turn that into a book. So, finally, it has happened!
There was another sad component to the day for me, though. As I wrote the book, I chose not to tell many people about that project. It was a personal, private, emotional project for me. I didn’t even tell my sister, Lisa, because I wanted to surprise her with the book. She was a cheerleader for me, and I knew that she would be as excited as I am. Unfortunately, Lisa, died suddenly a week before the book was published, so she never knew about it. Now, I wonder if I made a mistake by keeping the news of it from her. But even with this sadness, there is joy for me because I know that Lisa is in heaven now.
Lord, thank you for the reminders you give us in life. Some are good and others are prickly and even sad. The memories are something unique you have given to us. I want to use them to remind myself how you work in my life every single day and all the ways that you have been so good to me. Help me to continue to cherish the bonus days that you have given to me and Jody.
Thank you for my sister, Lisa. Thank you that you provided a way for Lisa, and each of us, to have a relationship with you on this earth and an eternal life in heaven. You promise that when anyone calls out to you in prayer and invites you to be in their life that you will come into their heart. You further promise those who ask with sincerity, with the understanding that they have at the time, that you will take them to their heavenly dwelling place when they die. That is not a possibility, or a maybe–it is a take-it-to-the-bank promise.
And, Lord, thank you for giving me the courage and the strength to be obedient in writing the book. May you use it as you see fit to bless someone along the way.