MIXED EMOTIONS

I Was Just Thinking About – MIXED EMOTIONS.

Today is one of the days in one’s experience that can only be characterized as: 

A DAY OF MIXED EMOTIONS - MAY 11, 2019.

Why is a day of Mixed Emotions?

MAY 11, 2018 – A DAY OF GREAT SADNESS.

In the early hours of the morning, I received a phone call from my daughter. Because of the hour and the tone of her voice, I knew that her Grandson – our Great Grandson – Keaton Lucas Barron – had died. Sadness…Tears…Heartache - for this one who had struggled with Leukemia for six years has died shortly after his eighth birthday.

Additionally, I was still receiving Chemotherapy for my own Stage 4, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Because of my own condition, we were unable to travel to Oklahoma to be with our family and to attend Keaton’s Funeral. Tears and Sorrow were very real. The thought of my own personal demise was equally real. 

Two thoughts occur to me during those hours and days. First, the words of First Thessalonians 4:13 came to mind: “We do not want you to be uninformed about those who have died, so that you do not grieve like those who have no hope.” Second, were the words of a Hymn written by Oswald J. Smith (1914), Deeper and Deeper. Some of the words that came to mind were:

Into the joy of Jesus Deeper and deeper I go,
Rising, with soul enraptured, Far from the world below.
Joy in the place of sorrow, Peace in the midst of pain,
Jesus will give, Jesus will give; He will uphold and sustain.

One Year Later

MAY 11, 2019 – A DAY OF GREAT JOY

Our son’s youngest daughter – Virginia Ruth Perry – will graduate from High School at 2:00 P.M. Following the Commencement, Virginia will give a Piano Recital. I have been invited - and will be privileged -  to give a Charge to the Graduate. What should one say to an eighteen year old young woman who will move away from home to live in a Dormitory at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, AL? What are the adjustments she will have to make? What are the decisions/choices she will face? What are the riles that will govern her young life? What are the temptations that will surely present themselves? What will govern her response(s)?

At the very least, I hope and pray that her daily prayer will be Psalm 19:14 (NKJV), “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” I hope and pray that the song of her heart will always reflect and be: “Yield not to temptation, For yielding is sin…Shun evil companions, bad language disdain, God’s name hold in reverence, nor take it in vain…Ask the Savior to help you…”

The words of Proverbs 22:6 will certainly be tested: “Train up a child in the way she should go; even when she is old she will not depart from it.” Virginia has been reared in a godly home by parents who fear the Lord. They have set a righteous example for her to follow. 

As you Prayerfully – Consider these things:

On this sad day - - -

Please pray for Luke and Holly Barron and this day that marks the one year anniversary of their first-born son, Keaton.

Also – pray for the younger sons – Reid and Holden – and the extended family as this sad day is remembered.

On this joyful day - - -

Pray for Virginia Ruth Perry as she makes her transition from Home Schooling to the University Dormitory living and classroom instruction that will not necessarily be from a Christian and/or God-fearing perspective.