Friday, June 30, 2006

Lord, this morning we lift up the Grabb and Rodgers families as they mourn the loss of their beloved little ones, Corbin and Jake. Only You know why these things work out the way that they do, why we lose parts of our hearts before there is time to fully know them. But we know that you are wrapping your arms around these young ones today and that they know a freedom and joy beyond our understanding. Let each one mourning a loss this morning have a touch of your presence and comfort. Amen.


When BJ was 6 or 7 years old he, Brent and I went to the U.S. Nationals drag race just outside Indianapolis over Labor Day weekend. This was an environment that I had worked in previously and I wanted to share it with Beej. We sat in the stands and watched round after round of racing, walked through the pits collecting autographs on his John Force t-shirt and listenes as he excitedly chatted on about the highlight of the day for him - when the body of one of the "funny cars" flew off of its chasis and sailed high through the air (fortunately no one was injured) in the midst of the run.

As with other things that made an impression on BJ, he started paying attention to and asking questions about this loud, odor-intense sport. Each time I saw him for some time to come he would have questions about recent races, especially about the driver whose car he'd seen come apart, and he loved watching the drag racing videos that I owned. I enjoyed sharing this interest with him.

As time passed and the experience faded his interests gradually moved on to other things. A few years later I'm not certain he had any interest in any of the men who had signed his shirt that August day, but the important thing was that a bigger name had become the focus of his life and was inscribed deep on his heart, not on the surface of some flimsy cotton material. Beej knew Jesus Christ in a real way and his love for Him was pushing out some of the other trappings of life at an early age. He was grasping an understanding of what is really important and had already taken it to heart to the point that he was sharing Christ with neighbors and friends.

His love for the Saviour never faded, it simply continued to grow until the day he went home to live with Him in glory. The autographs are meaningless as he stands with the only "crowd" that ever really mattered.

That is another interest we have in common, but his grasp is at a much higher level than mine.

Praising Him,

Brad

3 Comments:

At 1:27 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you Brad for more wonderful insights on Bj and his love for Jesus.

I have a prayer request for my aunt on my mom's side. She is in a nursing home and has problems mentally and has manic depression, etc. and has been for many years. And today we found out she has breast cancer. Did a mammogram a few months ago, but because of her mental illness, refused to go for biopsy. My sister finally flew out to N.Y. and got her to go last week, and we found out today she has breast cancer and it has grown inches since the mammogram. My mom (her sister) died at age 50 of it. Needless to say, I am going in for a mammogram next Friday (haven't had one since 2002 and this is a wake up call). They want to do a bone scan to see if it is in her bones now, and with how she reacts to everything, this is going to be a long, hard process. She doesn't know Jesus, I have written to her, but who knows how much she "gets". Please pray for her and for my sister for wisdom (my sis not saved either). But God can still work in all of this. Thank you all so much.

May God bless each of you today, and always.

Linda Anderson

 
At 3:52 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Linda, you and your mom will be in my prayers. Just want to share with you that by the Lord's grace, I've been cancerfree (Hodgkins Lymphoma) since 1976. Early detection is important! Don't delay.
Mark, Hudson, OH

 
At 4:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Go Buckeyes!! I knew I liked you "Praying in pink!" Your blogs are always extremely informative for everyone and filled with genuine love and care! Go Bucks!

 

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