One Year Ago Today

Our Heavenly Dwelling

1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7We live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. II Corinthians 5:1-8

Do you know what you were doing on February 1st, 2008? Early in the afternoon I was sitting in a movie theater with a group of very giddy girls waiting to be among the first to see the "Hannah Montana/Meet Miley Cyrus 3-D Movie." We were a bunch of silly looking people: a couple of moms and girls ranging from 6 to 16 all in our 3-D glasses. It was a good distraction for me. For the past nearly 3 weeks my father-in-law had been in the hospital, most of it in ICU. We didn't know from day to day what the next day would bring. It seemed on Sunday, when Phil finally came home from Temple, Texas, where the hospital was, after 2 weeks of staying with his mom and daily sitting with his dad, that things could improve. Then, on Wednesday when he talked to his mom, the outlook was much darker. We planned to go back to the hospital on Saturday. But that day, Friday, February 1st, Phil was at work and the girls and I were "be-boppin' " at the movies.

That is, until Miley Cyrus, this teenage pop star, a girl whose star status most people will never experience, came on stage in plain clothes, no "Hannah" wig or make-up, no band, no dancing, sat on a stool and played her guitar. I had heard most of the "Hannah" songs as we watch the show. While I can't relate to the wealth or the teenage star status, I absolutely love watching Billy Ray Cyrus "play" Miley's dad (he really is her dad, which makes it even more fun). I can totally relate to a middle aged man with kids who try to get away with silly stuff! But this wasn't Hannah. This looked like someone's little girl sitting on a big stage. Then either she or someone behind the scenes told that she wrote this song about her grandpa who had died in the past year or so before she wrote it. My mind immediately turned to my father-in-law in a hospital bed. He wasn't gone yet, but somehow when I heard this song, I knew this was going to be what my girls would be going through very soon. I cried like a baby all the way through the song. I gathered my composure, or tried to, before the movie ended.

No sooner were we in the car when my cell phone rang. It was Phil. It was time. They would keep the machines turned on until we got there. We got there, the machines, which were doing nothing more than pumping air in and out of his lungs, and monitoring him, were turned off. As we watched him take what seemed like his last breath, over and over, we wanted to run into the hallway screaming for a doctor to come help him. We cried harder than we have ever cried in our lives. Phil's mom had gone to the hotel. She wanted to remember him alive. We stayed with him for some time, then left.

So, on February 1st, I know exactly what I was doing. I know what I was doing on January 19th, 1978, too. It was the day my brother died in a car accident. Isn't it odd how those days are etched in our memories?

As hard as it was to say goodbye, the Scripture above speaks of this departure. These bodies we are in aren't our true home. If we know Jesus, then we have a glorious home waiting for us. My father-in-law, Bill, isn't dying of cancer anymore. He is "clothed with his heavenly dwelling." That is the hope of knowing Christ as Savior. It is the hope for getting up each morning when things aren't the way I want them to be.

But while we are clothed in this earthly dwelling, we do miss those who've gone before us. If I knew how to get a you tube video in here, I would. I don't though, so I'll share a link with Miley's song, and paste the words here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09GENG8bzLA

Pop Bill, we miss you. But we look forward to seeing you again one day safe in the arms of our Savior and completely whole and healthy!

I Miss You

Sha la la la la
Sha la la la la

You used to call me your angel
Said I was sent straight down from heaven
You'd hold me close in your arms

I loved the way you felt so strong
I never wanted you to leave
I wanted you to stay here holding me

[CHORUS]
I miss you
I miss your smile
And I still she'd a tear
Every once in a while
And even though it's different now
You're still here somehow
My heart won't let you go
And I need you to know
I miss you, sha la la la la
I miss you

You used to call me your dreamer
And now I'm living out my dream
Oh how I wish you could see
Everything that's happening for me
I'm thinking back on the past
It's true that time is flying but too fast

[CHORUS]

I know you're in a better place, yeah
But I wish that I could see your face, oh
I know you're where you need to be
Even though it's not here with me

I miss you
I miss your smile
And I still she'd a tear
Every once in a while
And even though it's different now
You're still here somehow
My heart won't let you go
And I need you to know
I miss you, sha la la la la

I miss you
I miss your smile
And I still she'd a tear
Every once in a while
And even though it's different now
You're still here somehow
My heart won't let you go
And I need you to know
I miss you, sha la la la la