Thoughts about death...A year later

A year ago today my daddy entered Heaven.

Death has taught me and continues to teach me through grieving. Death isn't natural for us. Ki recently asked me "why do people die?" The short answer- SIN. We went back to the garden of Eden for that one. Ki then said "I don't want to die!" Of course, buddy, we don't want to die. Our soul is meant to be eternal. We aren't meant to die. We were created to live for eternity. We have this yearning inside of us to live forever.  And we will all live forever. 

Death is unescapable. We will all die. And when we die all of our stuff stays. The world keeps revolving. People keep going to work and school. Activities still go on. Sports are still played and meals are still eaten. Of course for us, it will always be missing piece. So many times I've picked up my phone to call dad and tell him something. It physically hurts my heart that he is not here to hold Powell. To see Leslie's new tricks. To hear Ki's new joke. To see Audrie's new drawing. 

A verse that was shared at my dad's funeral and has stuck with me--"It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart." Ecclesiastes 7:2   

The birth of a baby has always amazed me how one day you don't have a baby then the next day you do. Especially with your first. You have no idea what you are doing and they let you take this new life home! Just as quick as that seems death is even quicker. For 32 years, I had an amazing father physically on Earth. Then after 10 short and long days in hospitals, its over. And even though we KNOW dad is in Heaven, it was surreal to leave his physical body. 

If you were at dad's life celebration then you heard of the legacy my dad left. And once we leave this Earth, that is all that's left here (besides all the stuff that family has to go through :)) What a challenge it has been for me daily to consider what legacy I am leaving behind. I struggle often with feeling like I am not doing enough for God's kingdom. I am at home feeding babies and changing diapers. I pray that my children will be world changers. I hope that dad's prayers are still being heard for all of his grandchildren and children. That they will all follow, love and serve the Lord.

I am so thankful for all the memories. Family was so important to my dad. We tried to get together as much as possible. He was there for every life event. GT and I were just talking the other day about when he got laid off, my parents came over right away and brought us out to dinner at Outback. Then a few years later when GT got a new job they came to Longview and we celebrated! Every birthday, parties, graduations, hospital stay, showers, you name it- dad was there. He always answered his phone with wisdom to share. We had many talks in his living room about life. He shared theology with me when I had questions. His answer for anything was always to pray. We prayed about the insignificant and the huge decisions. 

What a gift it was and is to have a dad who loved the Lord with all of his heart, soul and mind. Even though he is terribly missed, we will spend eternity together worshipping Jesus.