Glory

Daniel "Glory" Video

When I took this video, Daniel and I were out for a walk at the park by our home.  He spontaneously lifted his hands in the air as I said "Glory", from the verse "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Psalm 19:1  Such a great memory, knuckles and all.

Today as I was running (are you beginning to see a pattern with my thinking and running? :))  the song "Glory" by Selah came on my shuffle.  It made me think of this video of Daniel and just brought all of the thoughts that will follow together.

I have been rereading "Through Gates of Splendor", by Elisabeth Elliot.  And yesterday I read these words of Ed McCully (one of the missionaries who would ultimately lose his life attempting to bring the gospel to the Auca Indian Tribe), "I stood by the bed of an eighteen year old indian boy in the eastern jungle.  I watched him vomit blood and in a few minutes I watched him die. In that hour, as I stood looking at his lifeless form lying on bamboo sticks on the dirt floor of the hut, I was to realize even more fully what Paul meant in 1 Thessalonians 4, 'Ye sorrow not , even as others who have no hope.'  I will soon not forget the screaming-chanting wail of those heathen folk who beat their breasts and mourned for 2 days and nights.  It was a picture of no hope."

Shortly after Daniel died, a dear friend told me about a family that lost a child.  This family too had no hope, and the mom went crazy going from psychic to psychic trying to find out what had become of her child. To no avail.  No comfort or answers ever came, just madness.

This made me think of our waitress at the Disney restaurant who told me "I hid it well."  "It" being that my son had just died.  But my tears prove I was hiding nothing.  Instead, I think it is the truth of 1 Thes. 4 that the waitress was witnessing, the "not grieving like the rest of mankind who have no hope."  I grieve, but with the hope of knowing I will see Daniel again one day.  I grieve his absence, with the hope of knowing that he is now whole and healed and happier than ever.  I grieve, because I loved him so, love him so and MISS him so.  But not without hope.

"Bothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope.  For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those  who have fallen asleep in him.  According to the Lord's word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.   For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the Lord forever.  Therefore, encourage one another with these words."  1Thes 4:13-18

As I listened to "glory" on repeat as I ran today and even now as I write, the truth of the hope that I have in Jesus, that one day...one day...one day we will see His glory, is what brings comfort to my heart.  Paul says to encourage one another with these words.  I can think of nothing more encouraging than the truth spoken of here.   So we wait for that "one day" with much expectancy, all the while saying come quickly Lord Jesus, come quickly!

You can listen here:
Glory

"We know not the day or the hour or the moments in between, but we know the end of the story when we will see Your glory! Every knee falls down before thee, every tongue offers you praise, with every hand raised.  Singing, Glory!  To You and unto You only. We sing glory to Your name." (--quote from the song, "Glory", photo taken during Daniel's Celebration of Life by Ramesh Richard)