tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8400340423678181828.post3631993529185124269..comments2023-10-04T18:01:43.464-05:00Comments on Dads Teach the Bible: HomesickMike Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05971102076711413290noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8400340423678181828.post-91794269636798016682018-01-26T18:28:31.563-06:002018-01-26T18:28:31.563-06:00Chuck, I can only imagine the ache. I am still in...Chuck, I can only imagine the ache. I am still in regular tears over Jenna and she is my son's wife. Their daughter is with us this night, it is a joy and a jarring reminder. <br /><br />In one of the last conversations we had with Jenna, she shared that the hardest thing for her was that her daughter would never know her. With great difficulty holding back tears, I reminded her that it would be a heartbeat in relationship to eternity before she would see her daughter again, not to be separated for eternity.<br /><br />Same for us...Mike Cunninghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05971102076711413290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8400340423678181828.post-65920945433965412732018-01-26T18:23:16.474-06:002018-01-26T18:23:16.474-06:00Wow, Brian, thank you for taking time to share tha...Wow, Brian, thank you for taking time to share that. As you know I love the mountains. I love getting my Bible and journal out and spending time with God at a 10,000 foot mountain lake. It is a sweet time.<br /><br />However, the image of making mud pies in a slum is apt. It is difficult to imagine - in fact I suspect that if we were to just barely get a glimpse of the beauty that will be, we would be undone.<br /><br />I can't wait.Mike Cunninghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05971102076711413290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8400340423678181828.post-41299346951139209582018-01-26T10:24:31.712-06:002018-01-26T10:24:31.712-06:00Beautifully written, both of you - obviously flowi...Beautifully written, both of you - obviously flowing from a heart stricken by the realities of of wounded, broken sin-cursed world.<br /><br />Three years ago I was enthralled by life, by the calling of God, of what had been watching Him do in my world, of the privilege of ministry of one heart with my beloved soul-mate like we had never had before. We had a growing family and coming grandchildren.<br /><br />Oh, I looked forward to heaven, for sure. I would see Jesus without the distractions of my own sin, the veil of life ripped. My Mom and Dad were there; beloved grandparents were there, etc., but I was full of a life to be lived here.<br /><br />Then she was gone within a week. It was sudden for me; I don't think so much for her. As I reviewed her life the last year, her growing hunger for the Lord, the little hints from small notes in her Bible, other books she was reading I suspect the Lord was getting her ready. I didn't get it.<br /><br />As the shock began to wear off some over the next months, and yet continues on, I, too, have seen my focus gradually turn to heaven, to seeing the Lord...and her. <br /><br /> "Homesick" is a good analogy! When we are homesick we still need to live life, want to walk with God, serve Him as the best we can, to influence others to come and join us. But heaven has all become more "real."<br /><br />Another side of this "coin" is realizing that God is doing some eternal things in my life through taking her. But that's for another time.chuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04631165961382647198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8400340423678181828.post-89083553029362923252018-01-26T01:25:39.380-06:002018-01-26T01:25:39.380-06:00Oh, my. Thank you for sharing. I'm so sorry fo...Oh, my. Thank you for sharing. I'm so sorry for all you've endured over the last 18 months. But, you put into words so beautifully what I've been feeling for so long. <br /><br />We're homesick. <br /><br />I was once infatuated with this world. It wasn't necessarily a terrible thing. I loved God's creation. My most reverent times were sitting on top of a 14,000 foot peak, and being in awe of my surroundings. But, I was in love with something that had been stained, and I didn't realize how much more beautiful it could be . . . how much more beautiful it once was. <br /><br />C.S. Lewis describes us as "Ignorant children who want to go on making mud pies in a slum because we cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea." That is until the curtain is pulled back, and we see this world for what it is. Full of pain and loss.<br /><br />We're homesick because we don't belong here. We're ambassadors. We're sojourners. We're from a better place, of which we have only questionable and vague memories. A place that's inscribed on our hearts, and one we read is better than anything we can imagine. It's a place where no more tears will be shed (oh, Lord, how wonderful that promise is), and where a great banquet will be held for those who embrace the Savior as their savior. And we'll finally see clearly, what once was only a dim reflection of how things were meant to be (1 Corinthians 13:12). <br /><br />We're homesick. <br /><br />Oh, to be in the arms of Jesus. No more tears. No more tears.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com