The Dead Teach the Living
I sometimes pray at the local cemetery. People may think that’s weird or morbid. I understand that, and I don’t expect you to do it. But it focuses me. As in, “What will I do with my life between where I now stand and wherever I’ll one day be buried?” Some stones are just there, as some people are. Some stones are amusing, as some people are. Some stones are heartbreaking, as so many are for children, teens, and young adults. And some stones are inspiring. One gravestone profoundly impacted me. I wept at the vast power of what it…
Staying out of the Heavenly Doghouse
One day after having wanted to die and go be with Kim, a thought filled my mind: Do you really want to go to Heaven and spend eternity without having fulfilled your life’s calling? Don’t you want to take that with you to Heaven? Later I thought that if God answered my prayer to die, I would also have to face Kim in Heaven. Oh no. I imagined her meeting me at Heaven’s gate, and instead of greeting me, she might say, “Pete! What are you doing here? Get back there and fulfill God’s calling on your life!” I would…
Don’t go without fulfilling your calling
I finally stopped wanting to die. The last couple of times I asked God to kill me so I could go be with Kim, I got back the thought, Do you really want to go to heaven without fulfilling your calling? Don’t you want to take that with you? That stopped me. Later I thought that if I meet Kim at Heaven’s gates, she might say something like, “Pete! What are you doing here? You didn’t fulfill your calling! Get back there and do it!” So I’ve determined to live and go to my next chapter. There you go: Faithfulness motivated by…
Keep Your Kingdom Focus
We all hope for a happy coming year. But we can be certain that along with the good things, not-so-good things will also happen. In my own struggles I’ve written about since Kim’s passing, the Lord prompted me with this: “It’s in the fire that you’re forged.” We all know he will grow us as we work through hardships. Yet for this to happen, I’ve learned the importance of our perspective, our focus. When I miss Kim too much, and everything in life seems to go dark, I’ve learned that I need to get back to a Kingdom of God…
