“Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25 BSB)
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18 BSB)
“For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.”Psalm 30:5 NLT)
We have arrived at November 21, 2022. The “12 months of firsts” has officially concluded. While this day was not actually a “first” in the sense of being something that I had experienced jointly with Melody, it was definitely a “first” for me. The “First Anniversary” of Melody going home to be with Jesus. The best part of this day was that it was completely “normal.”
On November 21, 2022, no fanfares played in my head. No fireworks were fired. No pity parties were thrown. No binging of any kind occurred. No grief, sorrow, or pain arose within me. It was “just another day.” At this point it had been about 11 weeks since my “wake up call”, and life was literally getting better each and every day. I had learned many important lessons over the past 12 months that will be of great value from this day forward. Here are some things I learned.
1) Don’t try to “go it alone” – We are called the “Body of Christ” for a reason. We are encouraged to gather together and “not forsake assembling” for a reason. From the start our Creator proclaimed, “it is not good for man to be alone.” We all need accountability, encouragement, and sometimes a swift kick in the pants, or a slap up side the head.
2) There’s a fine line between “faith’ and “foolishness” – Faith speaks, and acts, according to the Truth (promise) of the Word (for example “Let the weak say I am strong.”), but it does not deny the facts (“in my weakness he is strong”). I learned that while I was laying hold of the promises that my Daddy was giving me, and experiencing “Kingdom-Natural” deliverance form grief, sorrow, and pain; I needed to stay open and transparent about the things I was struggling with. The enemy tried in every which way to turn my faith confessions into verbal denials leading to suppressing things and “faking it.”
3) Guard against allowing boldness and confidence becoming arrogance and pride – Being bold, and confident, in the power of Christ in me brings overcoming power for victory. Being prideful, thinking that “I’ve got this”, opens the door to the enemy and will bring things crashing down.
4) Don’t be afraid to cry, and cry, and cry… – grief has the potential of crippling a person, however, sadness has the potential of delivering therapeutic value. I miss my wife today in the same way that I missed her when she was away prior to moving to heaven. I have never enjoyed being separated from her regardless of the reason why, or for how long. We all make assumptions about the future. Once those assumptions take hold of our emotions they become “real” to our minds. When Melody went away for a weekend I assumed she was returning on Monday. While I missed her, and experienced sadness, I did not grieve or experience sorrow. How did I know she was going to return? What if when she left on Friday I assumed she wasn’t coming back? That assumption would change everything about how I thought, and felt, about her absence. I think you get the picture.
As a follower of Jesus Christ I did not lose Melody (I know where she is). According to Jesus she didn’t actually die (wrap your head around that one). And I may see her tomorrow (like Enoch, I may be in the midst of a walk with my Daddy and go to His home instead of mine, running into Melody on the way). Bottom line, I am sad that I am not with Melody, but I have no grief, no sorrow, no serious pain, and I am filled to overflowing with joy, peace, love, and I could go on and on. (Thank you again Daddy!)
Tomorrow we will keep moving forward..