Things I miss.....

*the sound of his voice

*the sound of his footsteps

*his "I love you's"

*holding his hand

*clipping his suspenders each morning

*tucking my head under his chin when receiving his hugs

*him reading outloud to our boys

*seeing his horses outside

*looking into his dark brown eyes

*stopping by his office

*his, "wake you up if you need me" every night

*hearing his sleep apnea machine

*smelling his evening pipe on his clothes when he came up to bed

*knowing he is only a phone call away

*his blessing at the supper table each evening

*hearing his voice mix with mine while singing, such a wonderful tenor voice

*hearing him play the piano

*family devotions that he lead

*our late night chats

*his sweet kisses, caresses or yes, smacks on the bottom :)

*his funny stories of his day

*taking his profile picture on EVERY trip we took together.....beside this is the last one I took on a short trip to see family in July.

so many things.....some too private to share.....some too hard to explain.....God is lifting the fog I have felt surrounding me and I feel as if I am emerging from a tunnel. I can't imagine going through this without Him by my side AND having His Word to turn to. It is also teaching me to be patient; it is teaching me how important LOVE is towards EVERYone.....not just those we consider friends or believers.......but those we consider outside of God's family, or someone who has wronged you in the past.....I am realizing how short life is....how precious life is....and how Deep God's love is for us and He tells us we are to love as He loves us. We are to have love so we can sow kindness, gentleness, and compassion.......it is impossible to be able to minister to someone......even if it is a simple, sincere smile without love.

Some people are hard to love, I know......or you may think because someone wronged you and they have not asked for forgiveness that you can withhold love......but think about what God did.....He sent His only, beloved Son to die on the cross for US and for generations to come.....for a people who keep sinning, stumbling and making messes out of our lives.....where would we be without His love and compassion.....our Creator....yet we think we have the power to decide who we can love and show compassion to? I think not, the Bible tells us we do not have that right. So next time you think that a person doesn't deserve to be shown love, compassion or kindness, remember what our Savior did for us and our Creator did for us......I hope it humbles you as it does me. Teach your children to show love, compassion and kindness - be an example for them to follow......God gave us our children ......they are HIS not ours and we will answer to Him if we rob them of their God given sincerity to show love and compassion towards His creation.