The Dew is Still on the Roses...

"I make all things new..."

Revelation 21:5

NKJV

Mornings. The whole earth is yawning and stretching and wiping the sleep from its eyes! The sun is piercing the sky, golden and breathtaking in all of its radiant beauty. 

Shhhh...  There's a quiet to the morning that is broken gently by the rustling of the trees stretching and yawning to shake the sleep out of their branches. The sun is peeking over the clouds, tiptoeing into another day. The birds are chattering over their babies, nudging them into a new day. I sit at the window and bask in the rays of light that stream into my little abode. Most of the world is still in its pajamas. I am alone with my thoughts and with my God. I treasure these moments that begin another day. No one is speaking. The coffee is perking on the stove. The babies are still asleep in their beds. It is a new day.

Only a few minutes and then its over. But for those few minutes, heaven kisses the earth with promise. Like precious jewels, I savor these moments, alone with my God. Lord, remind me today that You are in it all. No matter what happens today, there is a morning coming that will be forever. Help me to savor the moments. Until that great “waking up morning” in heaven. Lord, remind me, You are in it all...

Eye Has Not Seen...

"Nor ear heard,
Nor has it entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared
For those who love Him."
1 Corinthians 2:9
NKJV

I had a dear friend once who had twin sons that were, of course, more precious than life itself to my friend. Inexplicably, one of his sons developed an extremely deadly form of cancer at the tender age of 11. From that point on, life was never the same. My friend rode an emotional roller coaster for well over two years. Just when the family was broken and unable to take another step, a miraculous drug would turn the tables of fortune and, what seemed a hopeless situation turned on its head and the child rallied to what seemed like a cure. Then, after months of “normal” health and childhood vitality, the disease came roaring back with a ferocity that threatened to crush my friend under its reign of terror.

Once again, my friend was caught in the merciless grasp of an enemy that kept appearing in new clothes with a new, more threatening voice, as if to say, “You will never escape, you will never escape... I have you. You will never escape...” Eventually, on the threshold of his graduation from grade school, my friend's son lost his battle and the Lord took him home. My friend was devastated.

I watched this unfolding tragedy with horror. There was nothing I could say to comfort my friend. He was inconsolable. He blamed himself for not being able to protect his son. As if he had willfully chosen to abandon his son when he was most needed. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. No. This father stayed at the side of his son through every excruciating minute of his illness. He never lost hope. He never gave up. He was faithful.

What does God have to say to us about these kind of moments in our lives, that define our lives by the immensity of their impact?  I have stood by the bedside of my own parents as they wrestled and fought against illnesses that took their lives. I have wept at the loss of my own child, much wanted and dearly loved, gone before I ever got to hold him in my arms. I have experienced losses in my life that I never talk about to anyone. They are carried in the silence of my heart, where only God knows the depth of pain their loss has meant to me.

When something happens in my life that tears the blister off the old wound, and I am brought back to the pain as if it were yesterday, I run to the Lord and tell Him the story that has broken my heart all over again. He never stops receiving me into His arms. He never turns His back to me, wondering when I will ever “get over it”. He never says, He's heard it all before and doesn't want to hear it again. No. He understands completely. He weeps with me. He gathers me in His arms and carries me. He looks upon me with the compassion of a Father who never stops loving His child. He waits for me to catch my breath. He loves me “until I can be me again...”

At moments like these, there are no words to speak that make any sense.  I am speechless in the face of life's unanswerable questions.  All I want to do is draw closer and closer to the One who holds the answers.  I want to hear Him speak.  I want to know that He is with me, no matter how alone I feel.  I want to know He understands what I have no words to express.  In the depths of suffering that silences my voice, I want to hear Him speak...

                            

Circles...

Circles swirl around my heart,

They speak to me of riches I have treasured in my life.

I squint to see you clearly and strain to hear you speak.

Do you carry something with you that are treasures I should keep?

Are you just an illusion, beautiful and fleeting -

A distraction, nothing more?

Or are you secrets I have stored away,

Seeping out of every pore?

I bear a message from Your God, He wants you to remember.

These are pictures of those you've loved and cherished.

Do you love them still?

Do you care that they might perish?

See the baby nursing at your breast? I made her just for Me.

All grown up now, all graduated and successful beyond measure,

She lives her life without the One she was made to treasure.

See the little boy sliding into home base,

Your pride and love for him is filling up your face.

A daddy now, he has a family of his own.

Life tries his every muscle, it tests him to the bone.

See that one you giggled with on a soft September day,

When you promised to love him always, as you gave your heart away?

He messed up, he screwed up, he failed to keep his word.

But, I forgave you just as much and I love him still today.

Circles all around me, memories good and bad.

Joyous, humbling moments, some of them priceless, some so very sad.

But in those circles I see you and I see me.

When the Master blows the trumpet, when it's all over here,

Will I see you in heaven? Where will you be?

Why do I see you in the circles of my life?

I thought you'd gone away.

Why do I still see you?

What are you trying to say?

Can it be that God gave you to me not just for the moment,

But for eternity?

Can it be that the Father's purpose is greater

Than anything I perceived?

He keeps you ever in my heart

Circling around me, reminding me of you.

Whispering, I haven't forgotten them,

And neither, My child, should you...

He calls me to continue the work that He began

So long ago, when we were young, when we didn't know His plan.

He planned for all of us to be together, no matter what happens here.

You and I are meant for heaven, He's made that very clear.

You belong to Him, before and after you belong to me.

Of all the wonders of His love, the dearest to me are here.

My children, my grandchildren, my first love and my last.

No matter what has happened, I thank Him for the past.

I pray we all will find His grace,

To forgive and be forgiven the sins we all must face.

To love, to laugh, to weep together at His throne.

What would heaven be to get there all alone?

No matter what life brings us,

I pray we will remember,

There's a heaven waiting for us

And I pray I'll see you there...

Looking back, I see you clearly in the circle of my heart,

No matter what it looks like, you will always be a part,

Of all that I count priceless, of all that I hold dear.

In the depth of my heart, He has worked a miracle and keeps you very near.

I pray that you won't treasure this life more than it deserves.

It's just a fleeting moment, it's over before it begins.

I pray you find the Savior that forgives us all our sins.

For there's a heaven waiting for us

And I pray I'll see you there...

Oh, My Papa!

To me, he was so wonderful...

I'm quite sure I'm dating myself, but I remember so well the words to the song, "Oh, My Papa", sung by Eddie Fisher,  'back in the day'!  Something like, "Oh, my Papa - to me he was so wonderful, oh, my Papa..."  Can I get an amen from anyone out there?  That's a song I have always loved and brings to mind the man I loved, who was my dad.


Lately, I've been missing my father. Seems strange because he died over thirty years ago. Some losses we never quite get over. We manage them. We adjust to them. But, we never completely close the book on them. I think that's the way God wants it. He wants us to remember and to look forward to a great re-union in heaven someday. I am totally there! I cannot wait to see the big, gentle, Irish cop that I was privileged to call Dad. It will be well worth the wait...

I have decided to post a little loving tribute I wrote for my father on Father's Day last year. I know it's not Father's Day. But, it could be as far as I'm concerned. He is on my mind so much. I miss you, Dad. This is for you.

A good dad is simply irreplaceable...

I lost my father 33 years ago this summer and I still miss him like it was yesterday. I celebrate my dad this Father's Day with a few snap shot memories of him as I was growing up. This is especially for my kids, some of whom remember him well, and some of whom never knew him...

Earliest memory of him - placing my tiny feet on top of his (size 13!) and dancing around the room with me to his favorite Al Jolson record! I knew I had found my first love at the age of 3 or 4!

Him insisting my sister, Kathy, and I, sing "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know" into the new tape recorder he had just purchased. Age 6 or 7.

Him loving Christmas! Decorating the "flocked" Christmas Tree he had purchased and then setting colored flood lights under it so that it changed from pink to blue! He thought it was fabulous. We were so embarrassed by his lack of subtlety and sophistication! Age 9 or 10.

Him (6'3) coming up behind my mother (5'1) and hugging and kissing her unabashedly in front of all of us kids! We were mortified and in love with him for it, all at the same time! He loved my mother and wasn't afraid to show it - all through his life... Age 11 or 12

Him working two or three jobs most of his life to feed and clothe his eight children.

Him, dressed in full uniform (he was a Chicago cop), with a gun on his hip, a shoulder holster, and a "snub nose" concealed in his sock, placing a rosary in his chest pocket and saying a prayer unfailingly just before he left for work on the midnight shift. I watched this with amazement as this big, powerful cop acknowledged his need for God and asked for His help every night before he left for work. Every time a siren went off, I envisioned my father in a gun battle that took his life. To this day, I say a prayer of safety every time I see a police car with lights on, siren blasting, on the way to a crime scene. Most of us never realize the danger a police officer is in every day that he goes to work. But you can be sure the reality of that risk is always on the minds of the wife and children he or she has left waiting at home.

His big hands cradling my daughter, Christy, his first grandchild!

Passing out cigars the day his first grandson, Don (his namesake), was born! Loving every time a new grandchild was born. He reveled in being a grandfather.

Him struggling with adjusting to the loss of his leg in the last two years of his life. He was a brittle diabetic and lost his leg to gangrene. He was only 52. This was an enormous trial for him and one that he tried to meet with faith and grace. He met the challenge when he came to visit me with his new "artificial leg" that he was still battling to accept. When he tried climbing the stairs and couldn't, he removed the leg prompting my daughter, Kim, (age around 5) to run screaming from the room that "Grampa took off his leg"! I watched him laugh and laugh for the first time since his amputation, even though I knew he was still grieving the loss of a part of himself that represented his independence and strength.

Him in the hospital, dying from lung cancer at the age of 54. I loved him dearly and had never lost anyone to death before. In the midst of excruciating pain, he looked at me with a twinkle in his eye, and a smile on his face and told me not to worry - he was going to see Jesus and what could be better than that.

The last two years of his life had taken him through a journey of pain and suffering that led him to a rock solid faith in Jesus as his Savior. He knew where he was going and wasn't afraid...

He wasn't perfect. He was just human - flawed and in need of grace like the rest of us. But I loved him and still do. He was my dad and I thank God for him every day.

He loved my mother, his kids, his grand-kids and his Savior. Not necessarily in that order. Not a bad legacy for a Chicago cop with a 6th grade education. Remembering you today, Dad. I have never stopped missing you...

"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, 

nor has it entered into the heart of man,

the things which God has prepared for those who love him..." 1 Cor. 2:9

Will I Know You?

One of my granddaughters loves to ply me with questions about heaven. Either she thinks I've already been there, or she figures I'm so close to the pearly gates that I must have had a chance to look the place over! I'm not sure what it is, but she asks me endless questions about what heaven is like. I tell her what God's Word has revealed to me about heaven and then, playfully, together we imagine some other things He might have in store for us – who knows? I believe Our God is a God of great surprises!

The images of heaven that God has given us, especially in the Book of Revelation, are of a heaven that is breathtakingly beautiful and beyond anything we can ever imagine. Here is John giving us a little glimpse of what he saw on the day that God gave Him a tour of His heaven.

“He who sat upon the throne was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes and they had crowns of gold on their heads...Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal...”
Revelation 4:3-6

John goes on to tell us that surrounding the Throne of God were four living creatures continually singing praises to the Lord Jesus Christ. I love everything about this description of heaven. God has spared nothing to show praise and honor to Jesus, who, as the sacrificial Lamb of God, is Worthy of all honor and glory, forever and ever. Because He paid it all for us, we will be partakers in His glory. What an incredible, life altering truth – almost incomprehensible to understand.

My granddaughter watches me with wide eyes, still completely believing that, if I tell her something, it must be true! So I tell her that God has said that “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard the things that He has prepared for us in heaven!” I tell her that Jesus said that He “has gone to prepare a place for us, so that where He is, we may be also!” He wouldn't have lied to us about that now would He? I describe for her the streets of gold, the pearly gates and the beautiful glass sea, with rainbows surrounding the throne of God. I tell her that I have many loved ones that I cannot wait to see when I get there – my father, my mother, my baby that I have never seen. And, we shall see Jesus. The One who purchased heaven for her and for me.

She isn't satisfied with that. Like any child, for every question I can answer, she has a million more! Will I be bored in heaven? How old will I be? What will I do all day - will I know you in heaven – will you know me? Will I just be a spirit that no-one else can see? I don't want to be a spirit, she assures me – that doesn't sound like anything I would want to be! Where will I live, will I go to school, will I get sick? Will I know you in heaven – will you know me? She asks me that question repeatedly, looking for reassurance that we will be together when we get to heaven – the touching and innocent questions of a child full of wonder about this strange thing we call 'heaven'.

I delight in these opportunities to share with my granddaughter the picture of heaven that I have in my mind's eye. I want to encourage her to understand that this isn't all there is. There is a heaven He has promised you and me. I do want to stir up in this precious child a hunger for heaven. This world is so fleeting, so temporary, so fragile. I don't want my granddaughter to so fall in love with life here, that she neglects to go after heaven. Go after God with everything you have, little one. And in the process, you will gain heaven...

I am struck by the words of Jesus when He said: “Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.' Yet, you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich, and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed. Anoint your eyes with salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. To him who has an ear, let him hear...” Revelation 3:17-21

Is God speaking to me – is He speaking to you? Are my eyes and yours so blinded by the riches of this world that we do not see Him standing at the door, begging to come in? Calling us to repent, to understand what is at stake, while there is still time? Have we so stuffed our ears with the cotton balls of “our priorities” that we do not hear His voice or receive His correction? He has told us He will chasten us because He loves us. Do we believe Him? Or are we so self-satisfied, imagining we lack nothing, not realizing how desperate, poor and naked we are before Him?

He has promised us riches untold in a heaven that is waiting. Are we looking for that day? Are we prepared? Or have we traded away the heaven He has purchased for the immediate gratification of things that are perishing anyway?

Like my little granddaughter, I have to train my eyes to look for Him; my ears to hear His voice; my heart to yearn for Him. I have to learn not to settle for anything less. There is a heaven waiting. I don't want to miss it! Do you?

I look at my granddaughter, just beginning life. But, I know that it is over almost before it begins. When it's over, I want to see her again. I want to have her over for hot chocolate in the little cottage by the sea that He has tucked away just for me! I'm sure I'll know her. And she'll know me!

Scripture References: 1 Corinthians 2:9 NKJV

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

Nor have entered into the heart of man

The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”