The picture is faded because that’s what old Polaroid’s do. They place perfect memories onto imperfect paper. The paper can’t keep the images from blurring forever, but the memories can’t fade from our minds. What old Polaroid snapshots can do is stir up the memories.
I call this week my dad’s birthday week. Three years ago on Jan 19th 2015 my dad celebrated his first birthday in heaven. I wonder if Jesus met him at the gate with a birthday cake in hand or maybe even a blackberry cobbler. Dad would have liked that. On Friday Jan 26th, dad would have celebrated his 84th birthday here on earth. Here or there, which would you prefer. If you were to ask my dad, I could safely tell you, he’s loving where he’s at.
I also call this week memorial week. Tomorrow, Jan 23rd, my father-in-law will have celebrated his 4th birthday in heaven. Again, him and dad are having great celebrations these days, singing hallelujah to the Lamb all their day long. While walking this earth my father-in-law had a lovely deep baritone voice. My dad had a hard time carrying a tune, but I believe he is harmonizing quite well with my father-in-law now.
My husband and I miss our dad’s. Many times after his dad’s death, I would catch Kevin picking up his phone to call his dad only to put the phone down slowly. I still walk by my dad’s office and have to swallow the lump in my throat for that is where I heard the best stories of my life. Dad called them recollections. Is there such a word?
I write all that to say this, “It’s all good.” See, my dad and my father-in-law were bound by physical laws. They each were given a certain number of days to walk this earth. They were bound by the law of sin and death.
”For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 NIV.
As perfect as my memory of my dad is, I know he wasn’t perfect. He was fallible. He was human and he had sin. He lived in a world contaminated by sin and he had congestive heart failure, but one day on his timeline God gave him the gift of eternal life. And because of that gift dad is celebrating these days.
I remember the day dad passed from this life to eternity. Our last words, “I love you dad.” And he replied, “I love you too sis.” The next time I saw him I remember watching his chest while he was lying on that hospital table. I kept hoping I would see it rise and fall. It didn’t. I listened in the silence to hear the click of dad’s heart from his St Jude heart valve. There were no more clicks in it.
I walked out. Dad had gone to live with our Everlasting Father.
Everlasting – never ending – having no beginning and having no end. Ancient of days. Infinity to the infinity, the symbol of two intersecting circles going on forever. Our Everlasting Father will never get heart failure, His heart can never give out. It is from our Everlasting Father we get our breath and being. No matter the time of day and no matter how great our problem, we can always pick up our prayer phone line and God will always answer. God is always in His office, sitting in His Throne beckoning us to approach with boldness. He longs to share His story with us.
”Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils and the man became a living person.” Genesis 2:7 NLT.
I have peace because I am still my Father’s daughter.
I spent a week with my youngest two grandsons. I got to watch Moana with the twenty month old.
In the face of danger, in the face of enemies, and in the face of annoyances, she would repeat to herself and to her problems, “I am Moana of Motunui…” Those words gave her a foundation to face her problems.
“I am Kellye, daughter of the Everlasting Father.”