The Hurrier I Go....

The Hurrier I Go, the Behinder I get

This old saying has come to haunt me this past week. We – I am so scheduled, so rigid I have missed an opportunity simply because I was too much in a hurry.....You see I missed a wonderful opportunity to have lunch with my mom and dad a couple weeks ago because I was in a hurry… and now will never ever again in this life have that opportunity because Dad was suddenly called home to glory last Friday.

I had gone to the city to do some business and had decided I will not eat lunch there, but hurry home quickly to the greenhouses: plants needed pruning. While in the city, I made a quick stop at Wal-Mart to get a couple of need items when I came upon my parents checking out. They invited me to have lunch with them, but I declined the invitation because I had decided I will not eat (before I had seen them) and hurry home. After I declined this invite, I felt real guilty, like I did the wrong thing. But I reasoned, I had to get home! I still felt guilty, like I made the wrong decision. And I did.

Now Dad is gone, died suddenly last Friday. He was a farmer who spent the morning planting corn, came in for lunch, took his nap and then woke up with severe chest pains and was soon gone. Now I grieve over a missed opportunity, simply because I was in a hurry. Fortunately, I have the confidence he is with the LORD and is having a wonderful time and he would not want me to whip myself for my failure to take time…after all he has done the same to me. But I am still among the living and I should have minded the Spirit….

Why am I sharing this? To warn you to spend time with your parents when the Spirit prompts you to and do not procrastinate because they are your parents. You are told to honor them and they will not live forever. The day will come when they will leave and it may be without warning, like it was for me (although if I would have been willing to face reality, I would have seen the red flags, but Dad was NOT old – only 80 YO).

Blessings,
ginnyrose

Thanks for sharing you grief with us. It is such a comfort to know he is with Jesus. I can't say that for certain with either of my parents, my husband's parents either. It must be a wonderful consolation knowing you will see him one day again.

God bless you and His peace to you in your time of loss.

Sister,
Knowing Dad is with the LORD gives me so much joy, so much comfort...I cannot imagine what it would be like for it to be otherwise....except I do have loved ones who I fear about their eternal destiny and that grieves me worse then losing my dad in death.

Thanks for your kind words, Goldminer. And may God comfort you in your distress. This may be the time when you get to heaven that you will have to throw yourself into Jesus arms and let Him wipe the tears from your eyes. Now that concept is a comfort in itself, is it not?!

ginnyrose

Yes it is ginnyrose. I appreciate your encouragement as well.

Dear ginnyrose,
I am so sorry for your loss. Our Saviour said:
Matthew 5:4
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

May His peace and comfort keep you and your family in your time of sorrow.

When we've been there ten thousand years, bright
shining as the sun, we'll have no less days to sing God's praise, then when we first begun.
And our dad's will be there, with us and ours, the whole time.

May His loving arms surround and draw you to Him in your time of mourning.

In His Love

pastorfrin

Fortunately, I have the confidence he is with the LORD and is having a wonderful time and he would not want me to whip myself for my failure to take time…after all he has done the same to me.

Dear sister, what a tremendous understanding and exhortation at such a time as this ... My heart and prayers are with you.

Bro. Julian,

If you think it will help your sister any, tell her what I wrote...of course, I know my words are not all that powerful...it takes frequent nudges from the LORD to accomplish this.

I am so sorry you lost your wonderful mother. Julian, you know the fact that she was so wonderful and you her son, do you see how richly blessed you are, or have been? Not everyone who posts on SI has been the recipient of such a rich blessing! AND grief is the flip side of having experienced love...you see we really do not grieve over the death of people we do not know well. Julian, you were blessed...thank God for that and see what happens.

Julian, do you reckon there is a possibility the reason your sister is running so much is because it is her way of handling grief? Staying so busy she has no time to think? Busyness will do that, you know...Have you ever shared with her your disappointment in her behaviors? Some people have to be reminded often and it may require a lot of aggressiveness on your part. Depending on your temperment this may sound very repulsive. But try it and see what happens.

I am so sad you are so alone...that would be so hard. But you have the wonderful memory of how your mother served the LORD: that alone should bring you a measure of comfort to you, serve as a wonder mentor to you, even now.

After Dad's funeral (which was held in the afternoon) we had a supper prepared for us by the church family, then after it we had a time of sharing memories. Now this was wonderful...it went on for two hours, attended by 200 persons. It was a time of seriousness, time of laughter. It helped us much in knowing how much Dad was appreciated by others. Many testified to his willingness to talk about the LORD at any time. Someone told us how he was at his office one day with a stack of reply envelopes on his desk ready to be mailed. He would insert a tract in it and return it to the sender!

After the doctor told us dad died, we prayed, thanking God for having been privileged to have him in our lives all these years. But I will miss him so..

I am reminded of that motto I have seen many times: "Only one life 'twill soon be past..only what is done for Jesus will last."

Thank you all for your kind words of comfort,and Julian, we will pray for you as well.

ginnyrose

Hi ginnrose,Thank you for sharing..
you said..Knowing Dad is with the LORD gives me so much joy, so much comfort...I cannot imagine what it would be like for it to be otherwise....except I do have loved ones who I fear about their eternal destiny and that grieves me worse then losing my dad in death.
I share the same problem and joy.
For those who still have parents or family ,i would like to add the following.
If you are tempted to retaliate or react consider first if you can rather let it pass.You are robbing yourself of much joy and peace should that person die and you have regrets.Do what you can for your folks while you still can.You wont believe the joy that will come to you the rest of your life in this regard.Your seed sown will return a thousand times back to you.You are truly blessed ginnyrose.
deathdancer.

In my lead post I lamented the busyness I am afflicted with and how I cheated myself of rich blessings because of it. Now, I am beginning to understand the importance of saying 'yes' when someone asks for my presense. Rest assured, I will usually say yes, but there have been times when I said 'no' becuase I had work to do. Now if you stop and think about it: is work more important then people? Come on now: this is terrible! Really! Think about it a minute.......Work will never bless me in the sense a person can because it is an inanimate activity. It brings its own satisfaction, but people are much more important, including old folks. (Sat. noon our son asked us to join them for lunch - after I ate mine - and I remembered and went. Although I did not eat, I enjoyed being with them.)

You know what? Last Sat. night my DH and I were at a restaurant and I saw a very young couple come in with an old man who was their grandfather. Their love was obvious, flowing in both directions. When I saw that, I literally cried. It was so beautiful! I so wished I had the chance to do that to my 80 YO father....Brothers and sisters, ladies and gentleman, take the time to do it to your parents, your grandparents! They will love it..as one ages you get so lonely because you cannot move as fast as you once did. And you know what? You will likely get to be like that too one day if the LORD tarries and you live a long life.

Yes, I have been blessed....and could have had more....

ginnyrose