A Nugget from New Life Network
(reprinted with permission from Lauren Burgos)
Scripture for the Day (August 12, 2016)
And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. (Genesis 2:18)
So, I’ve been curious how to/if I should bring this up publicly but I suppose it’s not really a secret any more: the wedding I attended over the weekend was my dads. I know. That happened fast, right? If there is one thing I’ve learned in the past year is that life can throw some pretty interesting curve balls.
When my mom passed {unexpectedly } earlier this year, I could hardly imagine the future without her. But when I started to come to grips with our family’s new reality, I had to face the fact that my dad would likely re-marry. My dad is an outgoing, charismatic, life-loving, passionate, sentimental, inspirational and motivated person, among his other qualities. He is best suited for companionship. I suppose most people are-but some more or less than others.
So when he laid my mom to rest, I wasn’t sure how he would recover and walk through the grief of losing his wife of 27 years. In those first few months, we saw him experience the most gut-wrenching side of grief. And it was heart-breaking to say the least.
Well, a lot has happened in the last 8 months and in that time I’ve seen my dad cross over from a very dark place of grief and sorrow to a place of healing and restored joy. And during that time, he’s met the beautiful soul who just became his wife-Katia. She is quite a gem-she’s sweet, caring, humble, full of life and always smiling. My dad is blessed to have her. Seeing the way she loves him and knowing he won’t have to go through life alone makes my heart happy.
Honestly speaking, part of me would have preferred for all of this to unfold much later. I would be lying if I said it hasn’t been an emotional roller coaster. There are plenty of things I don’t understand, but one thing I do know: when God takes the pieces of your broken heart and puts them back together, I believe He is able to create extra room to include and love others. And that is precisely what I see happening here.
You can be sure that nothing about this new chapter in our family’s life causes the previous chapters to be forgotten. My mother is not a memory left behind…she is a constant presence in our life, simply from a different location. Part of me wonders if she had a part to play in orchestrating this unique meeting of hearts, to give my dad someone to love and hold for the remaining half of his life. I suppose when I get to Heaven I’ll be able to ask her.
So, here we go. Same story. New chapter. Bigger hearts. Bigger family. Less loss. More love. Less pain. More promise. My purpose in sharing all of this is to open my heart and let you know that my Jesus has been faithful to carry me through every season, every storm, every challenge and every change.
You guys know– this past year hasn’t been an easy one– but it has been my relationship with the Lord that has carried me through. He always has been and always will be my constant, my hero, my Savior. And He’s the One who can be that for you as well. You can know Him as your Lord, your Father and Friend. It’s just a matter of really deciding to give Him that access in your life, asking Him to wash your heart of sin, pain and unforgiveness and allowing Him to fill you with love, joy and peace like only He can do. Your life for His. Truly, this is the greatest exchange. If you’ve never made that choice, I hope you do today. It’s an eternal decision that turns your mourning into dancing, your sorrows into joy.
Lauren Burgos (Daughter of Doug and Janet Rowland)
