daily life as life goes on . . .

July 1st was Jill’s birthday.  As you have been reading this blog, you have seen my journey after having become a widower on May 17, 2012.

For most of the time, I have been occupied with various activities.  And for the next few weeks this will continue.

But July 1st interrupts my thoughts.  I understand anniversaries that people rehearse each year.  I also realize that this is an opportunity to grieve and to remember.

At the same time, my desire is to press forward.  I take this as a time to look at my life and see a new “birthday.” 

Where does God want to take me now?  What would be honoring to God and be a memorial for me of Jill’s almost four decade presence in my life?  These are questions that will occupy my day – and hopefully forward my life!

Well, earlier this evening I was off to a reception for a couple Jill and I had done  pre-marital counseling with.  The hall was just a few blocks away.

I walk in the door and see some local people.  They look as though they are the only familiar faces in the crowd.  So I volunteer to sit with them.  Then I head off to get some punch, and begin to encounter others.

Sarah had mentioned her parent’s friends.  Particularly this small group that had stayed together over the years – along with their families!  They no longer lived in the same town, but they kept up contact.  The “group” and their kids showed up!

And in the midst of this group.  The Cappelles – a couple who had worked with our music ministry in Prince Albert.  And my cousin Norm Stonehouse, and his family.   Well, I abandoned this other couple (they had also run across people they knew) and headed off to sit with my cousin and his family.  What fun!

As the reception came to the nine o’clock hour, I slipped away to visit with other friends who were passing through town.  They had been part of our music ministry in Prince Albert.  Along with another family we have known for years, we laughed, and discussed, and condolences were shared.  I was refreshed.

Now how good is that!  Don’t abandon your friends – they will prove your support in the years ahead!

Jill loved red bushes and trees.  This past week, in Ontario, my morning walks saw me pass a multitude of these!

I came home and wandered into our back yard.  A few years ago,  in our “garden space”, we had left two red bushes.  Just for the sake of having red bushes. 

They were not seen.  They were trimmed a few times.  The rototiller had to carefully bypass them. 

Overall they needed a new home.

So today, I went out and moved one.  To the front yard flower bed. 

Will it take root?  We’ll see. 

But at least now, in plain view is a red bush.  A reminder and an opportunity for a new beginning.

I was pushed to read a passage of Scripture today.  The reference to it came from a devotional book.

Here is the King James Version version:

Oh Lord, righteousness belongeth unto Thee, but unto us confusion of faces. – Daniel 9:7a

Confusion of faces?  Other versions talk about shame.  Others combine the two.

So I checked the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament).  That has faces as well!  And the Hebrew also uses “face” in the phrase. 

And so I began to think (and bounce this off our associate pastor).  If God is the one that is righteous, when we look in that direction there is no sense of being two faced or confused about what is right.  The problem is with us as people.  We have a confusion on our faces.  And as we look at one another, there is also a confusion on our faces.  We are shamed because we do not know right from wrong – our faces show it! 

Early signs that the Bible understood “body language?”