Three Years (Guest Post by Martin)

Today we marked the third anniversary of Joshua's birth.  This year we remembered Joshua a little differently than we did the past two years.  It being a week day, we just kept our remembrance to our family.  The big kids had the day off of school for Thanksgiving Break so first they and Heather and Levi bought a new flower arrangement for Joshua's grave and blue and orange balloons to release.  Heather kept it together even though half the balloons didn't make it the grave and the big kids fought over which color they wanted.  They all met me at the grave during my lunch hour and we had a short time of remembrance there and then went out to eat at Chili's before I returned to work.

As you may know, Joshua's grave has Psalm 71:19-21 on it:

Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,
    you who have done great things.
    Who is like you, God?
Though you have made me see troubles,
    many and bitter,
    you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
    you will again bring me up.

These verses have been our prayer for the past three years.  Like the psalmist, we take comfort in knowing that despite our pain, the Lord will restore us and lift us up from sadness.  We saw this fulfilled in part with Levi’s birth.  We rejoice in his life and the delight he is.  This was best shown when one night, a tearful Heather exclaimed, “It is so good to just hold a baby again!”

But Levi’s birth does not wash all the sadness of Joshua’s death away.  For many, there will be no story of another child.  For us, Levi’s birth does not help when we are confronted with the fact that our whole family will never be together in this world.  The picture on our Christmas card will always be absent a family member.  The simple question, “How many children do you have?” will continue present a dilemma: do we say we have three children which feelings dishonoring to Joshua or do say four and be have to tell someone of Joshua’s death?  It brings us pain when others do not acknowledge Joshua; or even worse, forget him.

And so the troubles, many and bitter, in this world continue.  But this passage, along with the rest of Scripture allows us to grieve, but not as those who have no hope.  At the church retreat in August, Rev. Paul Jeon reminded us that we are living in both the already and the not yet.  Christ’s kingdom has come in the person of Jesus and so we have forgiveness of sins and we live by the spirit.  But the fullness of that kingdom will not be complete until His second coming when He will put an end to all of the brokenness of this world.  We look forward to those promise where Jesus will make all things new and He will wipe away every tear; and there shall be no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.