Hi everyone, my apologies for the gap in my writing. This week has been something else I tell you! But it has been full of blessings and miracles, and for that, I will not complain :)
On Erik's birthday, we got a call that anyone would dread. My brother in law called and asked to speak to Erik...and informed me that my father in law had passed away. Talk about something I wasn't prepared for! Erik was on the phone with his boss from work, and thinking nothing of it, I told him to get off the phone and call his brother.
Well after that---things flew by quickly and I was amazed at how much God was teaching me. While Erik was on the phone with Wes, I went upstairs to call my pastors. Their IMMEDIATE response was "what do you need us to do?" And i'm thinking "i dunno...never been through this before." So I just requested prayer, and I went back downstairs to be there for my husband who was in shock...wouldn't you be too?
Before long, while my husband was still talking on the phone to someone, we received a knock on the door and it was my pastor, Bob...and wow, I was impressed...I was NOT expecting the response that we got...later that night, my parents (also ministers) drove over to get dinner for Erik and I. So IMMEDIATELY God was showing me how the people of the church were supposed to act...I saw people STOP what they were busy doing just so that they could come minister to the needs of Erik and I during this stressful time. It was amazing, and I'd be lying if I said I was prepared to receive that love!
So after a night of getting blessed, Erik and I started on our way to East Texas...and well, we weren't thrilled about certain parts of the trip because to this point---we had been in the middle of a family feud. Neither of us knew for sure what to expect, but we were advised to just stay prayed up, and that God would do all the work :) We agreed to stay prayed up and just leave all the hard work to God.
I was NOT prepared for what happened next...and it was a humbling experience.
Erik and I had been on the WRONG side of the family feud, and because we listened to lies without getting to know the other people involved, we nearly missed out on a huge friendship. But that's settled now, and it's a story for later...
Upon arriving to East Texas, we were informed that we would be staying free of charge at the hotel where my sister in law is the manager...and Shanon if you're reading this, thank you again for your hospitality :) It made SUCH a difference!
So we got there, and I met Shannon for the first time :) I was hesitant, because as I said before, ERik and I were, at this time, on the WRONG side of the family feud. But Shannon and her husband Wes were wonderful and they invited us to dinner...so of course, we accepted....this dinner was the beginning of a HUGE wake up call for Erik and I...and it was also where we had to swallow a big piece of humble pie!
Long story short, during this dinner, the family was willing to lay down all of our differences (for the most part), and I realized how much of a blessing Shannon is to the family. She is my first sister, and after getting to know her, I am PROUD to have her in the family :) God has just blessed her :) It was an exciting time, and I was just AMAZED at how wrong ERik and I had been about the family feud. I also respected Shannon and Wes for their amazing show of forgiveness :) I will not go into details here, but trust me, it was nothing short of miraculous for the things that happened that night!
Now please understand...although we mended a huge tear that had been in the family, the battle was not over. We feared what would happen in days to come as we tried to tie up loose ends and fulfill the wishes of Erik's dad...but we were blessed that we agreed to NOT fight or bring up the past.
After discovering some secrets that hurt us, the brothers bond grew even stronger, and our family was strengthened. During the rest of the week, the brothers continued to grow together, and all of those hurts from the past and the feud were RESOLVED...praise GOD!
I am here to tell you guys, even though I can't disclose the full story on this blog, PRAYER WORKS!!! Miracles HAPPEN DAILY! And God is an AWESOME GOD!
Everett was a WONDERFUL father and father in law....he was a great demonstration of what God's perfect agape love should look like, and I will miss him dearly. We lost a great man...
HOWEVER...looking at the positive. Although I will GREATLY miss the opportunity to get to know him better...I MUST focus on the positive.
I may have lost my father in law, HOWEVER, because of this death, I GAINED A FAMILY!!! And i KNOW that Everett would be pleased to see how close his family has come together through this experience.
This was not an end. This was a beginning to NEW LIFE as a FAMILY!!! And for that I am very grateful :)
I will write more about the experience in another entry soon as I would really like to tell about the memorial service and thank those people who came to the service today :) I would also like to put a picture on the blog of Everett as a memorial to him, so if you have a good picture of him that you'd like to send me...well, you know my email :)
This was a BLESSED experience, and though our hearts are sad, we must remember to REJOICE...because we know where Everett is, and we know that MIRACLES happened in all of our lives through this experience.
I love you all, and I hope to hear from you soon!
God bless!
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