Marvelous Light

Today was a great day! God gave me a jump start on my "good day attitude" with the beautiful weather. I also got to spend some time with some pretty awesome 4th-6th graders who soak up God's truth with eagerness and brutal honesty! Follow that with a chance to worship with my children beside me, belting out the worship songs without hesitation or embarrassment. It seriously choked me up a bit!

We ended our worship service by singing "Marvelous Light." This song has really spoken to me lately because the lyrics say:

My dead heart now is beating,
My deepest stains now clean.
Your breath fills up my lungs.
Now I'm free. Now I'm free!

When I sing these words, I think of my Dad. I see him whole and happy in the presence of Jesus. And, I love to think of him being able to breathe with lungs that are full...not the shallow gasping that caused him such distress in the end.

The song also says, "Sin has lost its power. Death has lost its sting. From the grave you've risen victoriously!"

Which brings me to my point. As I was leaving church this afternoon, Emma and I were all alone...which in a family the size of ours, these moments are rare! Emma was holding my hand as we strolled toward the van and she looked up at me and said, "Mom, I'm just wondering about something. Does death really have a stinger?"

That made me smile...so sweet! I love those moments of honest and innocent curiosity. Can you just imagine what she pictures in her head when she sees death with a stinger?

I told her that death does sting (quite a bit) when you lose someone you love deeply. But, death had no sting for "Paw" because it ushered him into the arms of Jesus.

It's comforting to imagine him in a place where his lungs are filled with the very breath of heaven. He is now completely free. That's the only thing that brings any kind of relief. It's the only reason I am able to have "good days!"