It is in giving...

I am sure so many of you know about Rick Burgess's son, Bronner, who drowned in their family swimming pool this past weekend. It keeps running through my mind and making me physically sick thinking about what that must feel like. I watched pieces of the memorial service on You Tube so I could hear Rick's message, and it was great. He spent more time focusing on God's love and His will than about his own sorrow and pain. It was so neat to see Rick use this horrible situation as an opportunity to show others about what faith really is. He truly shows that faith is trusting that God even when it hurts or life does not make sense. He said that he felt at peace knowing that Bronner was with his Father in Heaven, the ONLY father who could ever love him more than Rick. What a testimony to God's love for us! He does care about each one of us, and He does long for us to be with Him! We are traveling tomorrow to the visitation of one of my best friend's mother, Becky Steeley. Their family has been another incredible witness to the love of God in such a trying time. I just pray that God could make me rest in Him and trust His plan more than ever if something ever happened to my family.
Kate has these "Praise Baby" dvds that she watches when I am getting things done around the house, and one of the songs is called "A Simple Prayer." It made me think about God's plan for eternal life to result from something so miserable as death.
The chorus says,
"It is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Make me an instrument of your peace
I want to know what it is like to follow you.
When men look at me, I want them to see
the light of the world inside."