Hopes and Prayers needed
The other day (last Sunday) I received a phone call from a man that I consider to be one of the best, God-fearing men in the country and it really concerned me. He might read this so I won't give his name, but he is my uncle and one of my favorite relatives. It is not uncommon for him to give me a call just to check in. He has been here 100% on my spiritual journey and helping me to find Christ. He is a great supporter of mine and I love to just talk to him sometimes as someone who can relate. This was the day of our girls birthday party. All of the grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles were going to be at our house to help us celebrate, so I thought that might have been what he was calling about. I picked up the phone and he responded and then the phone went silent. Usually that means that I lost the call in my house but my phone didn't say "Call lost." I kept saying his name and telling him that I thought I was losing him. Finally I heard a sniffle and instantly my heart sunk. He, like me, is an emotional guy and I knew that if there was crying something had happened. I kept asking "what's going on? Is everything OK?" only to receive no answer. Finally he answered. "I need your help." What does he need my help with. This guy has a great job, a amazing head on his shoulders and a stellar family. What could he possibly need from me. He said, " [wife's name removed to protect identity]'s dad just had a heart attack. I need your prayer. He is in Colorado and they are doing CPR right now. I need you to pray for him." What else can you say but "Absolutely."
My life has been so much different from when I have had to deal with this kind of thing in the past. Before if someone would have called or sent me an email I would have said "OK" and continued on with what I was doing. Not this time though. Things are different. I knew that I had to and fast. After I hung up the phone with him, I told my wife and her mom what was going on. I had been doing some stuff on the computer so I went back downstairs and sunk into my chair. Here is my chance to step out of my selfishness and have a good talk with God. I prayed for God to do the right thing. If this was his time to take one of his sons home, do it but make sure that the family is taken care of. If not, please help him to recover quickly and have as little pain and discomfort as possible. Something deep down inside though told me that God had already brought him home. After 2 hours or so, my phone rang again. I saw the caller id come up and kind of had an idea what the call was about. I answered and heard the news that he had passed away. I offered my condolences and said the only thing that a Christian man would understand "He is with the Father right now. He is in a much happier place." I know that this is one of the last things that someone wants to hear, but it is the truth. We do so many things in our lives in order to fight off death, but true life comes from having a relationship with Christ and knowing that one day He is coming back for me and I will be with him for eternity.
I had read in one of my devotionals that we should not consider death to be a bad thing, but how do you convey that to someone who is hurting over the loss of a loved one. I thought back too during a class that I was taking earlier in the year when one of my classmates said "I had always feared death, but when I was sitting in that hospital bed I was happier than I had ever been in my entire life. If I died, I was going home to meet my Father." How crazy is that thought? To be happy about death. But think about the power of Christ knowing that she was ready, but He wasn't ready for her. I know that nothing that anyone can say can cushion the blow of losing a family member. I have lost quite a few to different circumstances and nothing can make that feeling not hurt. Even if your relationship with that person is not the best, not having them around still hurts.
As I thought more and more about it, I prayed that God give me guidance to help my uncle in this time of need and stress. As I sent him an email I saw it turn from a "I'm sorry" letter to a letter encouraging joy in this time. You can only hear so many sorries before they start to lose their sincerity. I didn't want my letter to lose sincerity or focus. I explained that this should be a time of joy and hope for the future. I told him that as the "spiritual leader" of his family he needs to stand strong for his wife and kids. I didn't know how he would perceive it, but he did write me back and I think that it helped. I ask that you join me in my prayer that his family can stay strong and for my aunt's mom. She needs it more than anyone. I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose the love of my life.
In other news. I also need your prayers as I begin a new project at my church. The details are quite long and I am still fuzzy on some of the things so I won't bore you with a rambling. In short it is a stewardship program that is being set up at our church and I was volunteered to be a part of it by a mentor and friend. It is going to be a great opportunity for me to be involved in some leadership programs in the Church and I couldn't be more stoked about it. I do need your prayers to help this program to go off without a hitch. If you are a part of my Church and don't know what I am talking about, keep your eyes and ears pealed for more information. This is a great thing that the Church is starting up and I hope that it will help to engage those who are still a little hesitant in their walk with Christ. I just need for your prayer for a positive impact by me and by our Church to help hundreds of thousands of people that have not found the peace and joy that can be brought on by a relationship with God.
On the running front, I have decided not to do the 50k this year. With all of the craziness that is my life I didn't get the amount of training in that needed to be done and I am not even close to being ready. I am still going to do a 1/2 marathon and it should be a lot of fun. With God's grace and mercy hopefully I will be able to do it next year.
Hope that all is well in your lives.
Stay Strong, Run Long
Tha Messenjah
My life has been so much different from when I have had to deal with this kind of thing in the past. Before if someone would have called or sent me an email I would have said "OK" and continued on with what I was doing. Not this time though. Things are different. I knew that I had to and fast. After I hung up the phone with him, I told my wife and her mom what was going on. I had been doing some stuff on the computer so I went back downstairs and sunk into my chair. Here is my chance to step out of my selfishness and have a good talk with God. I prayed for God to do the right thing. If this was his time to take one of his sons home, do it but make sure that the family is taken care of. If not, please help him to recover quickly and have as little pain and discomfort as possible. Something deep down inside though told me that God had already brought him home. After 2 hours or so, my phone rang again. I saw the caller id come up and kind of had an idea what the call was about. I answered and heard the news that he had passed away. I offered my condolences and said the only thing that a Christian man would understand "He is with the Father right now. He is in a much happier place." I know that this is one of the last things that someone wants to hear, but it is the truth. We do so many things in our lives in order to fight off death, but true life comes from having a relationship with Christ and knowing that one day He is coming back for me and I will be with him for eternity.
I had read in one of my devotionals that we should not consider death to be a bad thing, but how do you convey that to someone who is hurting over the loss of a loved one. I thought back too during a class that I was taking earlier in the year when one of my classmates said "I had always feared death, but when I was sitting in that hospital bed I was happier than I had ever been in my entire life. If I died, I was going home to meet my Father." How crazy is that thought? To be happy about death. But think about the power of Christ knowing that she was ready, but He wasn't ready for her. I know that nothing that anyone can say can cushion the blow of losing a family member. I have lost quite a few to different circumstances and nothing can make that feeling not hurt. Even if your relationship with that person is not the best, not having them around still hurts.
As I thought more and more about it, I prayed that God give me guidance to help my uncle in this time of need and stress. As I sent him an email I saw it turn from a "I'm sorry" letter to a letter encouraging joy in this time. You can only hear so many sorries before they start to lose their sincerity. I didn't want my letter to lose sincerity or focus. I explained that this should be a time of joy and hope for the future. I told him that as the "spiritual leader" of his family he needs to stand strong for his wife and kids. I didn't know how he would perceive it, but he did write me back and I think that it helped. I ask that you join me in my prayer that his family can stay strong and for my aunt's mom. She needs it more than anyone. I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose the love of my life.
In other news. I also need your prayers as I begin a new project at my church. The details are quite long and I am still fuzzy on some of the things so I won't bore you with a rambling. In short it is a stewardship program that is being set up at our church and I was volunteered to be a part of it by a mentor and friend. It is going to be a great opportunity for me to be involved in some leadership programs in the Church and I couldn't be more stoked about it. I do need your prayers to help this program to go off without a hitch. If you are a part of my Church and don't know what I am talking about, keep your eyes and ears pealed for more information. This is a great thing that the Church is starting up and I hope that it will help to engage those who are still a little hesitant in their walk with Christ. I just need for your prayer for a positive impact by me and by our Church to help hundreds of thousands of people that have not found the peace and joy that can be brought on by a relationship with God.
On the running front, I have decided not to do the 50k this year. With all of the craziness that is my life I didn't get the amount of training in that needed to be done and I am not even close to being ready. I am still going to do a 1/2 marathon and it should be a lot of fun. With God's grace and mercy hopefully I will be able to do it next year.
Hope that all is well in your lives.
Stay Strong, Run Long
Tha Messenjah
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