From joy to sorrow to hope.....

Lucas Jacob Rowley   

November 1, 2014 - November 11, 2014

This morning I re-read my last blog post.  Looking at it this morning, I couldn't believe how Jesus was preparing me for the week ahead.  Little Lucas went to heaven on November 11, 2014.  Our family had been basking in joy and wonder of this new little sweetheart, and our hearts were broken by his unexplained passing.  There are no words to say.  There is no way to understand or believe that this happened.  He was perfect..... he IS perfect.  Perfect in the arms of Jesus.  

I had blogged about time and eternity.  Lucas' destiny WAS eternity.  The wonderful peaceful presence of Jesus.  Yes, as I had blogged, Lucas means light.  And now he is sharing his light with the light of Jesus.  But we are empty and wondering how we had so little time with him.  As a mom, my heart breaks for my son and daughter-in-law.  I would rather have this pain myself than to see my children experience it.   Our family was stunned by the outpouring of love and support that has been shown to us.  There were more people at the funeral than we ever imagined.  So many people came to stand with us as we walked through this awful time.  In ten short days, this little boy impacted hundreds of people.  And even as you read this blog, you will also be touched by his life.  

Let me tell you a bit about the funeral service.   Pastor Damian McCrink is an amazing man.  He took this horrible situation and spoke hope into us all.  Pastor Damian married Doug and Susie three years ago and had really gotten to know them.  His presence at the hospital and through out this experience certainly brought me comfort and peace.  Susie had chosen Psalm 56:8 for the service...

"You have seen me tossing and turning through the night.  You have collected all my tears and preserved them in a bottle!  You have recorded every one in your book."  

Pastor Damian reminded us all that Jesus is with us in our sorrow.  As he said, "Jesus will need a really big bottle after this event".  And he also reminded us that Jesus has not only collected and saved the tears, he has recorded every one in His book. God is not the author of this terrible event.  Death entered the world through the fall in the garden of Eden.   And he reminded us over and over again that, those that believe in Jesus, will see Lucas again.  We will be with him one day.  And in that, there is hope.   Lucas had a life filled with love and hugs and joy, held in the arms of family and friends.  He was secure in the warm embrace of his mommy and daddy.  He was wanted and loved.  

Many people reminded me that when Lucas arrived in heaven, my mom - Great Grandma Nona - was there to welcome him.  And he is now resting in her arms.  She loved those little babies so much!  Yes, there were many, many in our "great cloud of witnesses" there to greet Lucas.  Most of all, Jesus took him on his lap and blessed him.  Yes, there is great hope in that.

The earthly body of Lucas was laid to rest in a small, country cemetery.  It is on a quiet winding road not far from Doug and Susie's house.  There are tall old trees and lovely open views of the sky.  It is peaceful and beautiful.  It will be a place to pause and remember and honor Lucas.  

On the day after Lucas died, I told Ken that this was a good time to stop blogging.  It seemed....well just too much to consider having to tell this story.  And then an amazing thing happened.  In the last week my blog has had more hits than I have ever seen. Not just from people who may have heard of the passing of Lucas.  But from all over the world.  There were people in China and Turkey, and Ukraine, France, Malaysia and many others.  In fact over 3,000 times people read my blogs.  I am just speechless. There is no reason why all of a sudden, this happened.  Usually when I miss a day or two of blogging, the number of people reading it drops to the single digits. The only explanation is that the Holy Spirit is at work in this. There is a plan for this blog. So I will continue to write. 

For those of us who loved Lucas so much, he will always be in our hearts and in our thoughts.  I am convinced that every life is precious to Jesus.  The length of the life doesn't matter.  Ten days is just not enough.  Not enough for this grandma.   So, as I look at the picture above of that perfect baby, I go from joy to sorrow and then hope.  And I am so grateful that all of those emotions are okay with Jesus.  He gets it - he understands.  And for today, that is enough.  

Jesus thank you for being there, for making your presence so real in the last few days.  Please be with Doug and Susie and give them peace that passes understanding.   Help us all to spend more time in the hope that you give to us and less in the sorrow that seems so dark and looming.  Soften hearts to your wonderful message of love and peace and forgiveness through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  And Jesus, please give Lucas a hug and a kiss from Grandma Lyn.  Amen

Exploring Savannah!

We had a wonderful day today exploring Savannah.  We started out going out to Tybee Island.  We were not impressed.  Its very crowded and not what we thought it was going to be.  We did see the lighthouse (which I posted a picture of on Facebook).  We did not pay the ridiculous amount to go up in the lighthouse - it just didn't seem worth it.  As we were leaving Tybee Island, we saw a National Park called Fort Pulaski National Monument.

I admit that my total recall of Civil War history is somewhat sketchy.  Today I know that I learned things that I had never been taught!  This amazing monument was a strategic fort, captured in 1862 by the Northern troops and became the southern most base for the Union army throughout the Civil War.  It was so interesting to see how the fort was constructed and actual pictures from that time period.  Yes, we were so glad we stopped here.  An added bonus was that the entry Ranger told us that Ken could purchase a lifetime pass to ALL National Parks that only cost $10!  That's right - lifetime pass for Ken and 3 guests to every National Park.  We could hardly believe it.  I'm sure we will be using that pass in the future.

 

From the fort, we went to historic downtown Savannah.  Ken's coworker had told us that we HAD to visit the famous "Leopold Ice Cream Parlor".  So we made that our first stop.  We had great sandwiches and finished up with some really good ice cream.  Again, so worth the stop.   We walked all around the historic district.  There are all kinds of "town squares" and I was surprised to see this...........

Yes, John Wesley was actually a minister in Savannah from 1736 - 1737.  The streets are mostly cobblestone or even actual stones!  Really interesting.  We walked to the river front and watched lots of big cargo ships coming and going.  And I loved this...

All of the Spanish Moss hanging everywhere.  Even on the lights!  I did feel like I was in a different time and place. 

There is an element all around Savannah about the occult, ghosts and hauntings.  They run several "ghost" tours that go to all of the "haunted" places around town.  I was surprised and pleased to see that they are honoring John Wesley.  There are a couple of churches in the downtown area, but the overall spiritual tone is heavy and dark.  I was glad to leave the area.  I did lots of praying as I was walking the streets, or sitting on benches waiting while Ken took photos.  I would say that I am glad we visited Savannah, but we will most likely not coming back here. 

Tomorrow we leave for Florida and the best part of the trip, in my estimation!  We will be spending several days mostly just sitting on the beach.  I love the ocean and I can't wait! 

Jesus, thank you for the spiritual roots you have in Savannah.  Thank you for John Wesley and the work that he did in this area.  Holy Spirit, give grace and strength to all of your people in this area.  Pour out your love and power over all who know you.  Jesus, give us all boldness and courage to be your representatives wherever we are, letting your light shine through us into this dark world.   Amen



The wise man built his house on the rock....

Today Ken and I actually made a decision about our living room furniture.  This has been a long time coming.  We do not usually spend money on things like furniture.  As a matter of fact, most of our furniture has been "hand me downs" from Ken's parents.  The dining set that we are currently using in our dining room was a hand me down from Ken's parents.  And the couch that is currently in our living room was from 2009 when Ken's dad relocated to Florida after the death of Ken's mom.  Today we were actually trying to figure out how old this couch was.  We found a sticker on the back - it was custom made in 1987.  So there you have it - 26 years old! 

 

 

Here is a very early picture of that couch - with Ken and his sister Sue and Gina.  I think this is from the late 80's but I am not sure of the date.  At any rate - its a long, LONG time ago.  But, there you have it.  The couch.  Today we made the decision to have this couch reupholstered.  I am sure not many people would do that today.  But we have been looking for a new couch for a very long time.  If you just want a simple sofa, it is difficult to find!  We were not being very picky, but most that we saw were not made very well and were still very expensive.  And the "bones" of this sofa are really good.  When I made a couple of phone calls to find out about reupholstery, one gentlemen told me that if the sofa could be lifted from one corner with one hand, it was most likely not worth a re-do.  So I tried the experiment.  Nope - I couldn't lift it with one hand.  So today we decided on a floral print that has a beige background instead of the pure white on the original fabric.  I am very happy with the choice.  The cost is about the same as we were finding to purchase a sofa of fairly good quality, and much less than the better quality new one.  So, in about a month, I will have a NEW "OLD" sofa in my living room.  Hooray!

 

And this afternoon, I was thinking about this.  Isn't it true that the foundation is the most important thing?  No matter what you are talking about, if the basic structure is good you can usually make something out of it - even if it seems like a total mess!  In our case the fabric is stained and the quilting is pulling out.  The cushions have been flattened and seem to sag a little bit.  But it is all fixable.   I am so glad that this is true for us and the situations we face.  Even if things look like a total mess and there doesn't seem to be any way to make things right, if the foundation is good, anything is possible. 

 

I am thankful that my life is built on the foundation of Jesus and He is my rock.  I am so glad that I have my feet firmly planted on the ROCK.  I love the parable that Jesus told of the wise man and the foolish man.  The wise man built his house on the rock and the foolish man built his house on the sand.  When the storms came, the house on the sand was destroyed.  But the house on the rock stood firm.  I know that in the situation that I am facing today, although we seem to be in a big storm, the foundation is good.  We just need a really good "upholstery job"!  

 

Thank you Jesus for reminding me that when you are the foundation of something, there is always restoration possible!  You are a great and mighty God that cares so much for us that you speak into the smallest details of our life.  Thank you once again, for reminding me that nothing is impossible with you.  Yahweh, I know that there are many people out there with problems and situations and issues that seem overwhelming.  And I know that you are the answer to those things.  Holy Spirit please speak clearly to us all and show us what things are built on sand, that we just need to let go of when the storms hit.  And then Jesus, speak clearly to us about your restoration plans for these difficult issues that have you as the foundation.   Thank you for being there is in the midst of the storms.   Amen