A Living Memorial

[DesertJoe]

God bless you all.It is Monday,May 31st 2010,& it is Memorial day.The world is so busy,& it seems that we have so little time to remember our heritage.This thread is not only about remembering friends & family who have been in the military (& I highly recommend that.My Dad was a world war 2 vet.Lots of memories there brought this to mind).The vision for this thread is that it would be a place where you could come & share your memories,both happy & sad,& that in so doing maybe you will be able to bring the good & decent & positive out of what may have been very painful experiences.
Jesus loves us,baggage & all.We live in a fallen world,& in a fallen world there is both joy & sorrow,bitter & sweet,suffering & victory.Jesus will use our memories,both the joyful & the painful,to bring Him glory & to make us more like Him,if we let Him.No matter how joyful things may be now,they are as darkness compared to when we will stand in His presence,& when our tears flow now,He comforts us,& our tears are stored in His bottle,& the day will come when every tear will be wiped away.God bless you. I originally posted this thread in the Baptist forum,& it is my hope that you will be blessed by this,& that this will help you not to say "Good bye",but rather "So long for now.see you later"

 

[DesertJoe]

What an irony dad.That you would die on the week preceding Memorial weekend 29 years ago.We never knew each other very well,and it seems that what little we did know of each other was marked by pain.I wish that I could have conformed to your wishes.I now see with the vision of hindsight that because of my own afflictions that were not understood at the time that I never could have been the son you wanted.I wish that I had realized that I made the gap wider in my rebelliousness.
In all of these years i have never really taken a long enough period of time to get in touch with the relationship we never really had.I realize that all you had to bring to the table was what you were given when you were young.
We never had the opportunity to reconcile when you were still on this earth.I have often buried this memory because of fear.I never heard you once (that I remember) talk about Jesus.We went to "church" on Sunday,but I never heard the gospel preached.My fear is that maybe you did not know Jesus.I have always told myself that the God who in His mercy & compassion found me when I did not know Him was able to do "Great & mighty things which I know not".I always re-assured myself with God's word that He is merciful,& that His compassions never fail.
Dad,know that I will never forget you,& as long as my God gives me breath I will not say "good bye".In the hope that God gives my heart I will say "So long for now",& it is my hope that when I am in the presence of my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ,you will be with me there,& we will understand how the painful things were not in vain,but that Jesus used them for His glory.
On this 29th anniversary of you passing from this life,I do not say good bye,but rather "So long for now.See you later".I love you dad