Encouragement
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During my father’s funeral and the days preceding it, beginning with the early morning telephone call and the drive from Marietta, Georgia to Birmingham, Alabama, I felt that I had been given an extra measure of strength and comfort. Several words of scripture ran through my mind and held me up through the first days of shock and sorrow.
“The Lord is my Strength and My Shield.” (Psalm 28:7)
“I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
There had been no long illness or suffering. Dad had been a believer in Christ since early boyhood and had lived a full and normal life up to his last day. He had even taken mother for a steak dinner at his favorite restaurant the night before he died at the age of 72. I thanked God for all of this!
It was not until a week or so later, after returning home with my husband and three children, that I developed a terrible haunting feeling that dad never knew that I loved him. Mother had been sickly as long as I could remember and we all had given her so much attention and him so little. He was always there in his quiet way, taken for granted by all of us.
Every morning for days, after my family had left for work and school, I got down on my knees and cried hard and long, agonizing over the past and praying for the peace that I no longer had. I recalled each incident of thoughtlessness or neglect in detail and asked God (out loud) for His forgiveness. If only I could ask dad’s forgiveness and tell him that I loved him. But he had left so unexpectedly.
Then, one morning in desperation, with tears rolling down my face, I prayed, “Lord Jesus, we are told in the Bible that you are at the right hand of God, ready to speak to Him for us. (Romans 8:34) Since dad is with You then surely You could speak to him for us. Please tell dad that I love him very much, even though I never spoke to him of my feelings or showed affection.
Having cast my burden on to Jesus, I felt relieved, as if a heavy load had been lifted from me. I knew that my message had been delivered and I thanked Him.
“Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
The Lord left me in this state of mind for several weeks. Then, before daylight one morning, I had a dream. All my dreams before had been “in black and white”, rather vague and difficult to recall. This one was different.
I was in a room somewhere and suddenly dad was there. I ran to him, reaching around him to close an open door. Somehow I knew that no one else was meant to see him and that he might disappear if they did. This was no solemn, sad visitation. He was in a happy, joking mood, delighted to be able to surprise me in this unusual way.
His clothes were casual – dark pants and a bright blue shirt. He looked younger than when he died, in the sense of the look of perfect health. His eyes were very blue with their familiar twinkle and his hair very red as it had been before it turned grey. Complete, overflowing love shined from his eyes giving me the impression that he looked at me through the eyes of God.
I said, “I’ve wanted so much to see you and tell you that I love you.”
“I know” was all he said, but the way he said it gave me perfect assurance. Somehow, without audible speech, he told me that he wasn’t very far away from us at all and that this dying business was much simpler than I could possibly imagine.
He left just as suddenly as he had come and I sat up on my bed, wishing I could have prolonged his stay.
I knew that the Lord sent dad to me to bring me the peace that passes all understanding. What a beautiful thing to do for me! Not only did Jesus convey my message, which was all I had asked for or expected, but He sent dad to me to assure me that he knew all the time that I loved him.
Was I, through the wonderful love of Jesus, permitted a glimpse preview of my father in his resurrected, incorruptible body? All things are possible through Him!
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