Sorry about my absence...lots of life stuff going on. Let me share a few of them with you. First, last Sunday, Michael, our youngest child (hardly a child), graduated from Wheaton College. To say we we proud is understated, as he not only excelled academically, graduating with two degrees; but more importantly, he excelled in his character and personal growth.
Our trip to Chicagoland included a stop in the Columbus, Ohio area to visit our daughter, Alana. It was so fun to see her all nested in. Her apartment was very "Alana-esque", which is very comforting to a mom. From Ohio we traveled to Chicagoland to spend 3 whirl-wind days celebrating with friends and family, the achievements of our children. It was awesome to meet some of Michael's beloved professors who invested so much of themselves in our son.
Monday was crazy as we picked up Michael from his campus house and drove out of Wheaton. It was a new experience for us, as we had never brought Michael home from school, always flying him home. We dropped Alana off at O'Hare airport and hit the road, heading toward Cincinnati, where we planned to stop and visit my dad.
We arrived in Cincinnati late in the afternoon, after losing that hour traveling from central time to eastern time. It was a bit sad to see dad, who suffered a massive stroke last May. It had been nine months since we visited last, and sadly, there has been no more progress in his recovery, as he fully relies on aids and my sister to care for his every need.
We arrived home at 4:30am, Tuesday morning, frantically unpacking the van so we could return it to RDU before 5:00am, which surprisingly we did. We fell into bed at 6:00am and slept for 3 hours or so, then I came into the church. It's always an awesome feeling to miss your colleagues and ministry that much!
Since Tuesday I've been eyebrow deep in ministry planning, as well as meditating on our upcoming series, So You're Dead...Now What?, which begins tomorrow. I've been praying for our pastor, as I know this series, while bringing comfort, also brings pain.
Preparing my heart and mind for the upcoming series, I came across this comment by Billy Graham on Heaven: "Heaven will be a place in which its inhabitants will be freed from the fears and insecurities that plague and haunt us in the present life...We will be free from the economic and financial pressures that burden us down here, free from the fear of personal and physical harm...There will be no fear of personal failure...Our relationship with Him will be intimate and direct. I'm looking forward to that glorious day of going to heaven."
Not sure about death? Heaven? Join us tomorrow at 9:30 or 11:00am for Dave's first message in this series, Death.