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

Coming to the end of the day.......

This morning Ken and I attended the funeral for the wife of our friend from High School.  It may seem odd to say this, but it was a really good service.  There were many, many people there. The Pastor was wonderful.  It was very clear through out the service that Cheryl knew Jesus and she was now at home, in heaven.  The best part of the homily was that the Pastor challenged everyone to make a commitment to live fully for Jesus.  He said "don't muck around the edges" .  He then said "this is the time to just do a cannonball off the high dive! Just jump in and be fully immersed in Jesus"   I loved this!  What a great picture!  I doubt that there was anyone sitting in those pews that could leave the church without thinking about where they are personally with Jesus.  There were two more things that I really liked about this service.  First, there were no flowers.  I know that this might sound silly (and some people might be very upset by this).  But I spent more than 20 years as a church secretary and I can tell you, the aroma of "funeral flowers" lingers for a long time.  This family had requested no flowers and I was happy to see that request was honored.  The second thing was the funeral pall (the covering over the casket during the church service).  It was a beautiful white fabric that looked quilted with a light blue cross.  It looked like a warm, soft quilt.  At one point in the service, the Pastor talked about the 23rd Psalm.  And he also mentioned that Cheryl had sung "I am Jesus' little lamb" and he leaned over the casket and said, "and now Jesus is holding her in his loving arms."  It was as if that quilt with the cross was just a picture of that message.  The music during the service was comforting and uplifting, the last hymn was "I Know that My Redeemer Lives".  A good way to end this service.

Later in the day, Ken and I decided to drive into Chicago so that Ken could photograph the sunset.

This was my view when we parked the car.  Yep, that is the Adler Planetarium (with my shadow).  We got downtown in record time for a Friday night, surprisingly by taking all back roads - no interstates or tollways!  And then we actually found a great parking space (thanks to signs posted all along the roadway that said "NO PARKING".  However on close inspection the signs were for TOMORROW!  I am sure most people thought they could not park there today!)  Ken set up his camera and I sat and watched the people and the lake.  And the sunset!

 As the sun dropped below the buildings, you could sense the coming darkness.  But then the lights began appearing on the skyline.   We stayed until the city was alive with lights.   I couldn't help but see the connection between these two events today.  Cheryl's life here on earth was done... you could sense the darkness coming....but then there was the amazing light of Jesus shining through.  And you know that she is alive with Him, basking in His light.    It was a perfect ending to this day.

Jesus, thank you for speaking to me so clearly today.  Continue to bring peace and comfort to Cheryl's family and friends.  Thank you for her church and Pastor Mueller.  Holy Spirit, encourage all of us to take that jump off of the high dive, and become immersed in Jesus.  Thank you for lakes and buildings and sunsets.  Amen