Surviving the Whirlwind

Hi everyone. It has been three weeks since my last post so I hope someone checks in to read this. I think I am ready to resume so sort of regularity in posting. Well, I have survived the death of my lovely wife, Joyce. Joyce received her crown of righteousness which Paul refers to in 2 Timothy 4: 6-7 on May 3 2009. What an awesome woman of God she was. God was so generous in his grace being poured upon my life in this one simple act - allowing me to be married to Joyce for nearly 35 years. In fact, there is not a time since my high school years in which Joyce was not part of my life having met her my freshman year at Oral Roberts University.

Her journey the past 5 years has been one filled with incredible experiences and times with the Lord and intimate moments with Him in such a manner that Joyce was fully embracing parting this life and walking with Jesus in the fullest manifestation we can experience for eternity. At one time in this journey she reflected upon these moments of heavenly visitations (as she described them) and proclaimed, "The best that we experience in this life pales in comparison to that which we experience when we are fully in his presence."

Two things have struck me the past weeks since her passing. First, Joyce's uncanny ability to focus on the Lord's presence (which always ushered in his peace and joy) in spite of everything else swirling around her. This was her priority once she found she had a lump on her breast. She was determined to not let cancer consume her attention, focus and life. Rather, Jesus was going to get her attention and focus. As a result of her laser-like focus on this, she spoke one morning that the past three years of life have been the best three years of her life because Jesus was nearer and more personal than any time before this incredible journey.
The second thing that has struck me is the lack of anything of monetary value that Joyce had.
My wife was always first and foremost a practical gal. But I never realized how much this was true until I began the "cleaning out" process of her stuff. There was nothing of great value to hang on to except her wedding ring (which was a hand me down from her family.) Everything else of value was valued due to it coming forth from her person. Things such as her writings, art, etc. hold value because it came from her heart.

This "cleaning out" process brought to mind an episode of my life when my youngest daughter, Christabelle, and I were preparing to head to Europe for her High School senior trip. (Oh the benefits of homeschooling!) We were shopping at the local Goodwill store in Gainesville when I commented to Christabelle, "How ironic this is. Here we are shopping for clothes at Goodwill when next week we will be in Paris, Venice, and Vienna." But this was how we had learned to live through the years - putting value on the experiences and memories rather than on material things.

This is enough of a post for this morning. I'll most likely post many other reflections of our life together in the days ahead. Some psychologist somewhere would say this is probably good therapy for me. Personally, forget the therapy! This is a wealth of stuff to write about. This is a treasure store of topics which is needed for this guy who struggles in writing even a simple letter!

But now I am off to see the movie Star Trek.

God is so very good!
Blessings