Okay, this will be my last post about the funeral! I couldn't fall asleep last night; I kept thinking about how awesome it was to go to Jim's funeral. It was so refreshing to see a life that served God until his last breath: Pastoring churches & hosting home fellowships in his home, reaching out to his family & opening up his home as a place of refuge. It was said of Jim that he meditated on & memorized God's word. God's Word was hidden in his heart. As the head of his home, he taught his family the true meaning of Christmas every Christmas Eve. They'd invite the whole family over for cup cakes & singing Happy Birthday to Jesus. (I knew before I was even married I wanted to copy that tradition!) Then, each year a new grandchild gets to read the Christmas story. It is just so family oriented & focused on the Lord. A true example of Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Even Judy's Christmas tree is completely decorated in picture frame ornaments of every child, grandchild & great-grandchild. They love God & their family.
The slide show at Jim's funeral showed picture after picture of Jim with friends, of Jim with his children, of Jim with his grandchildren, of Jim with his great-grandchildren, & so many of Jim with his wife- of course always holding her hand or with an arm around her. He was so blessed. The Lord promised him long ago that he would have a full quiver, & boy was his quiver full! Jim & Judy have so many grandchildren & great- grandchildren that stem from their six children. I've heard it quoted that a rich man says children will make you poor, but the poor man says children make you rich. It's so true that children are our greatest treasure. It isn't possible to take our earthly treasures into heaven with us, but it is possible to be with our children there. And that was Jim's prayer. It was said, at his funeral, that he prayed every night for his six children & their families. How precious!
As I was thinking about Jim's godly character; I was thinking how blessed his family was to have him as their dad, uncle, grandpa, father-in-law etc. Although I don't know what that is like to have those relationships, God has blessed me with a godly husband & two beautiful boys. I pray every day that my boys will come to know the Lord. I am so thankful for these male relationships in my life. I know that we are all still sinners & I know it is only by the help & guidance of the Spirit to have an affect on lives like Jim did. Jim was not perfect, but Christ who lived in him was perfect.
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