I would like to share an unbelievable excerpt from a book by Charles Spurgeon. This is from the devotion for last Saturday, June 18th. "Is it a day of sorrow with us? Let us expect to see the Lord gloried in our deliverance. Are we drawn out in fervent prayer? Do we cry day and night unto Him? Then the time for His grace is near. God will lift up Himself at the right season. He will arise when it will be most for the display of His glory. We wish for His glory more than we long for our own deliverance. Let the Lord be exalted, and our chief desire obtained."
That's amazing that Spurgeon wrote that on June 18th many, many years ago. How did he know what that day would hold in 2011?......God knew. Saturday, June 18th, was the day God chose to have a very special homecoming. It was the day that Bill Farris, my father-in-law, stepped from a life of sanctification to glorification. He went from years of faith to instant sight. He saw Jesus, His Savior, face to face. This makes me want to shout. I must admit it makes me a little jealous, but it won't be long at all until we will see him again.
I am rejoicing for Bill, but my heart breaks for his beautiful wife. She has been with Bill for so long that I am sure she can't remember what pre-Bill life was like. She will miss the things he does around their home. She will miss looking out the window and seeing him mowing, raking, picking up sticks....and twigs, edging, mowing, raking, sweeping, picking up sticks.....you get the idea.......he loved to work in his yard. She will even miss him picking at her (saying things without cracking a smile leaving her to try and figure out if he was kidding or not). My heart also breaks for three little boys that are going to miss their dad. They are all grown now, but I saw the little boys in them that weren't ready to let go of their dad today. My heart breaks for us daughter-in-laws who feel like we have lost a dad. My heart breaks for the grandkids. He loved them all and was a GREAT granddad.
I stood for 2 and a half hours today, shook hands, hugged necks, and listened to story after story about Bill. Many of them had played ball under Bill. I heard them all agree that he was a great coach. Many worked with him. Many went to church with him. But over and over I heard them say, "He was a good man." I have been thinking about that. These were people who had been touched by Bill at different times throughout his long life. From those who played ball with him all the way up to those who go to church with him now - they all agreed. "He was a good man."
We touch alot of people in our lives. Touching is not always a good thing. Sometimes, if you asked the people we work with to describe us, along with the people we go to church with, and the people in our home who know us the best, you would get a different description from each one. That is a sign that we are not living a life of truth. We pretend to be something we are not. Unfortunately, it is usually the people closest to us that see the real us. But if all those people describe us the same way (hopefully a good way), then we can look at that description and see a true picture of ourselves. That might be a scary thought for you.
When I get to the end of my life, I don't really care how much I have accomplished. I don't care how much money I have. First of all, I want my Lord to be pleased. I want to step out of this life and into the next straight into the presence of Jesus - and see Him smile. Can you imagine hearing Him say "Well done, my good and faithful servant." Second, I want to have left behind a testimony that points others to Him. Not a testimony of wavering, but of being faithful. I don't really want people to say I was great, I want them to say "Her God is great!"
Bill had that kind of testimony. He was rock solid throughout his life. He raised three amazing sons that Vivian, Joye, and I are very thankful for. I watched Doug get up at the funeral and share with a ton a people what God had laid on his heart to share. I could tell that it was a struggle for him to get every word out without breaking down. It wasn't easy, but he did it out of obedience to God and as something he could do for his dad after all his dad has done for him.
Thank you, God, for the gift of Bill to Julie, Kent, Hank, and Doug. Thank you so much for allowing me the privilege of being a part of this family. Tell Bill that we love him and miss him but we are going to be OK. Tell him to enjoy the party and we will see him soon.
A Good Man.
