A Quiver Full: Inspired

Yesterday, was an exhausting day. We attended Ryan's granny's funeral and by the time my head hit the pillow last night, I was tired. Yet, I felt privileged to be a part of her homegoing celebration and I was so thankful that we could be here.

As we stood in that church and said our goodbyes, there were 2 things that I was really inspired by and I felt the Lord impressing these two reminders on my heart.

The first was simply a reminder to "press on." There was one point in the service when there was a period of praise and worship music. All 9 of her children gathered around the casket and held one another as they said their goodbyes to their mommy. After they finished, they sat down and a moment later, the 8 daughter-in-laws stepped up, embraced each other, and showed honor and respect to the woman who had welcomed each of them into her loving family 10, 20, or 30+ years ago. It was beautiful and so very sad. But what overwhelmed me so much was not the mourning, but the fact that as they gathered, in the midst of the weeping, they were lifting their hands to heaven and singing praises. The lyrics of the song, "Mighty to Save" were rolling off of their lips even as they were comforting one another's sorrow. And as I watched this beautiful picture I thought about how I desperately hope to leave a legacy like that. How I want to raise children who love each other, their own families, and their Lord. Children who will be eager to proclaim the good news that Jesus is mighty to save, even in their darkest valleys. Wow, what a testimony to the Lord.

If I ever met a woman who could have made excuses for giving up, it was Alvis Campbell. Raising nine children in a tiny 4 room coal camp house, sometimes in desperate circumstances, it would be easy to despair. But, as her oldest son said yesterday, "When life gave Mommy a lemon, she always made lemonade." I couldn't help but think of the scripture which says. "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus." Phillipians 3:12-14. I want to live like that, pressing on, no excuses.

The other thing that I was reminded of is that this world is not our home. The Bible tells us that one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. I stood in that sanctuary and was reminded again of the urgency to share the good news of Christ. I was overwhelmed by the thought that there are so many who do not hold the hope of heaven and I want to be faithful to tell as many as I possibly can. While yesterday was sad, it was not without hope that the family grieved. They know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that their parents are sharing eternity with Christ and that they, themselves have the hope of heaven. They were sad to lose their mommy, but even more than that, they were rejoicing at the thought that she was now in the presence of Christ. As someone said, "Don't cry for her, she's worked all of her life for this."

I don't know who it is that is reading this blog, but I have a question for you. Do you know for certain that if you died tonight you would spend eternity in heaven? Because if not, the Bible tells us that we can be assured of this. It's a free gift. I encourage you, if you are not certain, message me, leave me a comment, or follow this link to find out how you can make that choice:

http://www.sbc.net/knowjesus/theplan.asp

And now, just because every post is a little more fun with a photo or two, here are a few images from yesterday: