A weekend to remember

God is so good.  Those are the 4 words that have been repeating over and over in my head.  I have never been so thankful that so many members of our family (though not complete) are here with us this weekend.  We were going to need them more than we knew...but God knew.  He knows a lot that I don't, and I can't imagine living without that hope...the hope of knowing He is in control and that my life and the lives of my family are in His hands.

My parents arrived last week, and since they've had to downsize quite a bit in order to begin their full time RV adventure, they brought several things they thought I might like to have.  Among them were two foot lockers that belonged to my granddad from his time in WWII.  I knew he had been in the war and that his plane had crashed in the Aleutian islands, but he never talked about it as far as I can remember.  Yet as I stood in my kitchen looking through his things, I was overwhelmed with emotion, thinking of all that he must have experienced and endured.  And all so that his family...his children...his grandchildren...his great grandchildren...our children that never had the privilege of knowing him...could enjoy the freedoms we now have. 

The 4th of July took on a much deeper meaning for me as I stood in the kitchen and held his dog tags in my hand that hung around his neck as he fought for his country and for me.

I noticed after his name on the tags, the name Mrs E.M. Peek.  His mother.  The one who gave him life.  And following it read "Annona, Texas".  The place where he came from...and the place he would return to, despite what may happen.  I don't know the details of his plane crash.  How long his mother had to wait for news of her son.  But God is good.  And what my great grandmother didn't know...He did.  Our life is but a breath and our days are numbered.  But God is good.  He did come home.  Married my grandmother.  Had two children, 4 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren and counting.  It's been 14 years since my grandad unexpectedly left his earthly home and left us all asking why.  But God knows why. He IS good. And because of the hope I have in Him, I will someday put my arms around my granddaddy again.

Two nights ago, I held our 9 month old baby girl in my arms as she had a seizure, turned blue, and stopped breathing.  As I held her, and my mother in law held the both of us, and my father in law held the three of us, all we could do was call out to Him because we knew that her life was in His hands.  "In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind."  I didn't know when or if she would take her next breath.  But He knew.  And He is good.  And today she is sleeping peacefully in her crib and we are blessed with another day.

Then yesterday we celebrated, through baptism, Joshua's decision in May of 2010 to accept Christ into his heart as his Lord and Savior.  Just as my granddad fought for our freedom, we have someone who fought and died on our behalf to save us from the one thing that separates us from our heavenly father.  And I am so thankful today that our firstborn knows this truth and has chosen new life in Christ.  As I watched Joshua being baptized, witnessing his outward expression of an inward change...I was reminded again of my granddad's dog tags that represented who he was...his identity.  Just as his mother's name...the one who gave him life...was stamped below his own, Joshua now has a name stamped over his life as well.  The one who not only gave him life, but gave His life for us.  And his name is Jesus.  He has a new identity in Christ.  He also has a home.  Not Indian Trail, NC, but heaven.  The place he came from, and the place he will return...no matter what happens.  His destiny is secure.  My granddad had a war to fight, and I'm so thankful for the sacrifice so many have made so that we can celebrate our freedom today.  But there is another war, against sin and death, that we will never win on our own.  But we can have victory if we give our lives to the one who gave his life for us.  And if the Son has set you free, you are free indeed! John 8:36.  God is so good!