Today was the day I did not want to experience for at least 30 more years. We buried dear sweet Linda today. I struggled emotionally at the funeral much, much more than I anticipated I would. So many friends from so many places eased our (children, parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, extended family) struggle a bit. We miss her so, but we anticipate a glorious reunion. One of the great things about the much anticipated reunion is that we have no idea just how great it will be!
In the meantime, though, I - as I know all the aforementioned family are - am exhausted, physically and emotionally. Don't worry, I will retire the instant I send this to you. I just wanted you to know that I will continue writing. For starters, I want to share with you some thoughts from Linda that were never published. In fact, some of these thoughts were intended to be published as a sort of "Part 2" to the Valentine Letter she wrote me just over a year ago. That particular post is probably the most mentioned and most loved of all the posts over this past year. She had more to say, and I want you to hear it, though it may come in the form of a tribute to Linda because she lived what she wanted to share with wives.
I will also, eventually, use this space to share many thoughts about God, Scripture, and life, both from a theological and philosophical perspective. There are a lot of reasons I want to do that, but this is not the time to elaborate. Soon, perhaps. I may, as you would understand, take a bit of a break. I may just as well find writing to be cathartic and catch myself writing twice a day, though one of the reasons I have resisted "blogging" in the past is because of the temptation to ridiculously excessive self-focus. At any rate, I just wanted you to know I will continue to occupy this space.
And, I wanted you to know that you will never know (hmmm) how much I love and appreciate every one of you! How could I have made it through this day without you? It goes without saying that God's grace sustained us all, but He used you to be a part of His gracious plan for us. THANK YOU!
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6 comments:
Crying out to Jesus on behalf of you and your family - He is the Comforter!
Praise God for His amazing grace; thank you thank thank you for your testimony of that.
You will continue to be lifted up in prayer!
Abigail Guyton
(GCC Member, CU Student)
Dearest Brad,
Words just cannot touch the deep sense of loss to this side of heaven. What an incredible gift she was. After seeing the obituary in the paper and that beautiful smile, I sensed what it must have been like when she saw Him for the first time face to face. That smile was such a powerful statement to the warmth and joy she brought to so many lives. I have said it many times over the past few years-how very grateful I am to the Lord for bringing us to Fuquay and GCC for even a short period of time. We treasure you and all that you brought into our walk with Christ. Thank you for sharing this part of your walk with us. We love you and are continuing to lift you all up.
The Farley's
Dear Brad.
Ellen told me the other day about Linda. Even though we haven't seen each other in so many years, it's hard to imagine this loss. You and the family are in our prayers.
If you are traveling north, please come by. We would ALL love to see you.
Cindy Parker Haley
We will continue to lift you up in prayer daily as I cannot imagine the loss you feel. I am so glad you are going to continue to blog as you are a gifted writer and teacher and you have taught me many things but most of all I have grown closer to our heavenly Father. (thank you)
Vickie
Brad,
It was such a relief to see another entry from you, and even on such an amazingly difficult day. One thing I told a close friend last week, that I thought would've sounded crazy to anyone else, was how much I was going to miss your blog. I didn't know if you would write anymore. But it has been such an amazing encouragement to me over the past year. God has given you a gift to share His Word with both the Body and with those who don't yet know Him. As awesome as it is to HEAR it shared on Sunday mornings, it is as wonderful to SEE it written on this blog. For you truly preach His Word here. Thank you so much for making yourself and precious Linda vulnerable as you shared your lives with us so openly this past year. Never hesitate to continue to let us know how we can pray for you daily. We want to ask the Lord to meet your needs.
We love you.
May God be your All in All,
Your "I Am".
Love,
Keisha
I wish I could have made it out there. You're all so very special to me. Y'all have remained in my heart and in my thoughts for so long now ... it's become a habit to wonder how things are.
CS Lewis said: "Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality."
Your faith and trust in our God has been life-altering for me ... all the way over here even.
Keep looking up!
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