Post 68-Are You Tired of Waiting—What About Joseph?

                              

 

            A number of months ago, someone gave Carol a gift card to a small, upscale restaurant in the Chadds Ford area. Recently, we decided to use the card and went early on a Saturday morning to, hopefully, beat the morning breakfast/brunch crowd. After being seated, the hostess asked if we wanted anything to drink. “Yes please. Water for both of us, orange juice for me, and coffee for both,” I answered. She brought the water and juice almost immediately, and disappeared. In time, a different woman appeared and said she would be our waitress, and took our order, but did not bring any coffee. The restaurant was only 45 to 60% full, if that.  

            Have you ever heard anyone joking about how they are before they’ve had their coffee, and then the magic that happens to them after they’ve had that first cup of brew?  Well, I’m not quite bad, but when I go out to eat for breakfast, I expect coffee to be one of the first things a waitress or hostess puts before me. After about 10 minutes, and still no coffee, I had to go to the restroom. I passed the coffee station on my way. There was our waitress, talking to others, around the coffee machines. On the way back past I said to her, “We’re still waiting for our coffee.”  It looked to me like there was a pot coming down and one full one sitting there.

            Back at the table, I impatiently waited for another five to ten minutes and then told Carol to get up because we were leaving. While any good restaurant or diner worth its salt will get the coffee to the table as soon as possible, my impatience wasn’t really based on that, but on my own lack of patience. I had forgotten God’s word about self-control. Some years ago, I personalized Proverbs 25:28:

   I operate in self-control and don’t allow my spirit to be unruly. I refuse to be like a city that is broken down and without walls. Self-control and discipline add protection to my life. 

             In my quick reference Bible verse book for when one has a need (for example, what does the Bible say about anxiety or worry, or hope, or temptation, or patience), the pages on Patience are dog-eared. Just one of the many verses on patience is

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1 NIV

            I had the perfect, negative trifecta. My lack of patience set Carol on edge, ruined our day, and brought on conviction from the Holy Spirit. You’d think by now, after all these years, I would have learned, or developed,   p a t i e n c e. Very early on in my Christian walk, one of the first scriptures God dealt with me on was

² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4 NKJV

            I have never cared for James 1:2-4. Why?  God throws a catch into this. He says we have to go through various trials (not getting coffee, traffic jams, illnesses, problems with co-workers, whatever) to have patience produced. He doesn’t just give it to us. While I don’t understand why He doesn’t just go “Poof! You now have patience,” His ways are higher than our ways and He knows what He’s doing.

            I was recently talking to my pastor about some big situations we are facing. While some of them have to do with me rethinking my positions and then, perhaps (probably), humbling myself, a couple of the situations have to do with waiting, in other words being patient and trusting God for His timing to some things we’ve been praying about for years.  My pastor reminded me of Joseph.

            Do you remember Joseph? Beginning in Genesis 37 with the dream he had of reaching family ascendancy, and then continuing for the next fourteen chapters we learn more and more about Joseph, his family, about God’s extraordinary plans for him, and about the Jewish nation  In time, we are introduced to Joseph’s gift of dream interpretation and his acknowledgement that interpretations come from God. We see Joseph growing in stature in spite of being unjustly jailed. Finally, he is elevated to ruler of Egypt, only behind Pharaoh, in authority. Not even the forgetful butler kept Joseph from rising to governmental power and family headship. 

            I’m sure we’ve all heard the cliché, “The butler did it!”  But what if the butler had remembered Joseph as soon as he was released?  He would have arranged for a pardon from Pharaoh, and Joseph would have gone home to his family. Two years later Pharaoh would have his dream and there would have been no interpretation, no storing up for 7 years, and little  chance of survival of Joseph’s family and the Jewish nation  So Joseph had to wait in jail, more limbo, until the timing was right for God to accomplish His purposes for Egypt and Israel. In other words, the delay, waiting for God to “do something” was necessary for His ultimate purposes and blessing to Israel. 

            How long did it take? According to Rav Kook, a Jewish Orthodox rabbi, Joseph first had the dream when he was 17 years old, but he did not become leader of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh, until age thirty. But even then, God did not fulfill the dream. That took nine more years (after seven years of plenty and two years of famine), until his brothers came to buy food for their father and families. So Joseph’s dream that his brothers would one day bow down before him and recognize his greatness were fulfilled when he was 39 years old.  We see that his dreams took 22 years to come true! For God to make them a reality.

            This past weekend, while I was preparing for our annual trip to the CPA to get help with our taxes, I was going through our file on 501(c)(3) giving. I found a newsletter from one of the ministries we contribute to on a regular basis. In a recent edition of Inspiration, Joel Osteen’s ministry newsletter, it dealt with patience and waiting on God for answers to our dreams or fulfillment of our dreams.  Osteen talks about how God will often show His love to us. It’s not always in a manner we would necessarily think of. Sometimes, we are not ready to receive an answer to our prayers. Osteen wrote,

In the same way, God shows His love for us not only by what He gives, but also by what He withholds. He knows what you can handle, and He knows your destiny. So don’t fight Him if He says, “Not yet.” Trust His timing. “No” doesn’t’ mean never.

            Osteen likens waiting on God (and during this time He is probably also working on increasing our patience) to a fruit tree. When the tree is planted, it must grow, develop roots and get to the place where it is able to produce fruit. For a standard size apple tree, for example, this can take between 6 and 10 years. Then, the fruit doesn’t magically appear, things have to happen first. The tree must blossom. The blossom must be pollinated to be fertilized. The blossom must turn into the fruit. The fruit must grow to the ripened stage. Then in season, the fruit can be picked.

            During the waiting time it is easy to become discouraged. Osteen says about this,

Friend, if you’ll keep meditating on God’s Word, if you will keep your mind filled with thoughts of hope and faith, then without even trying (Does the fruit tree try to produce fruit? My comment.)...you are going to come in to your due season.

And God says this,

⁹ And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:9 KJV

            Here, for me, is the rub. I find myself getting discouraged, impatient, listening to the nay-sayers, doubting God for the help I need or the answers I’ve been seeking. Why? It is usually because I’ve stopped reading my Bible regularly. I’m not meditating on His Word or trying to memorize scriptures. For one reason or another I stop delighting myself in Him. Yes, while God is sovereign and can do, or not do, whatever pleases Him, I often think that others use this as an excuse to give up on seeing Him answer our prayers or fulfill His promises.  

Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Ps 37:4 NASB

            I felt Osteen was seconding what my pastor had only a week before told me about Joseph. Joel wrote,

Maybe you are like Joseph and find yourself in a difficult place right now. If so, I want to encourage you to stay in faith. You are right on schedule. The delay, the detour, the disappointment—God is going to work every setback for your good. (Does this sound anything like Romans 8:28 Again, my comment.)

            I mentioned the nay-sayers. We all have them. They either don’t believe. Perhaps it has been so long that they have taken their eyes off Him. Or, they have probably gotten discouraged by the circumstances in their own lives and given up on waiting for God..

 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, 26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,....Mark 5:25, 26 KJV

² Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool.... ³ In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the waters...(and) whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.⁵ A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” ⁷ The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” ⁸ Jesus *said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” ⁹ Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. John 5:2 ff NASB

²⁶ Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.... ²⁹ For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. Luke 8:26ff NKJV

             But even Jesus had them, the nay-sayers. In Mark 5 (NASB) is an excellent example of not only waiting on Jesus and the disruptions or discouragements that can come while waiting, even after He promised, but also the nay-sayers. A synagogue official’s daughter was sick unto dying. The official came to Jesus and implored Him to come and heal her. Jesus said yes. But along the way he stopped to help someone else, and the little girl died.

³⁵ While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?” ³⁶ But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only  believe.” ³⁷ And He allowed no one to accompany Him, except Peter and James and John the brother of James. ³⁸ They came to the house of the synagogue official; and He saw a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing. ³⁹ And entering in, He said to them, “Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep.” ⁴⁰ They began laughing at Him. But putting them all out, He took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and entered the room where the child was. ⁴¹ Taking the child by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). ⁴² Immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded. ⁴³ And He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this, and He said that something should be given her to eat.

            Can I guarantee that every prayer will be answered? No. Can I guarantee every outcome will be like the one with the little girl? No. But can I encourage us to stay in the Word; to let faith build in our hearts; to not listen to the nay-sayers; to trust Him to bring you into your season? Yes. And God says this,

⁹ And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:9 KJV

²⁶ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 NKJV

            I believe Joel as he ends his newsletter,

God hasn’t forgotten you, and He hasn’t forsaken you. He knows how long it’s been, and He’s heard all your prayers. Your circumstances may tell you, “It’s too late,” but God wants to tell you today, “You are right on time.”

 

Post 67—Can Words Change the World?

            I recently saw an advertisement for a high school with a great academic and social responsibility track record. Some of their curriculum highlights were quite impressive—trying to be responsive to the life needs of people, and not just programs to get a student to pass a standardized test. What caught my eye was the course called Writing for Change—designed to develop the student’s writing skill and is built around the concept of the power of words to change the world.

            As a writer, that phrase, the power of words to change the world, certainly caught my eye. When I see Gen Z-ers or many of the Gen Y-ers today who can’t even read cursive (or what we used to call just plain, old handwriting), I don’t know if it is due to the No Child Left Behind nonsense which has left many children behind because of too much federal government intrusion into states’ domain, unfunded federal mandates causing undue financial hardship on local and state governments, or too much emphasis on standardized testing and rigid teacher qualifications, i.e. “teach to the test.” And its replacement, the Every Student Succeeds Act, isn’t much better. ( A staggering number of complaints about this Act were received by the Department of Education before it was implemented.). But I am impressed that there is a high school that has a class on the power of words to change the world.

            Isn’t that what God did and don’t you think that that is what He would have us do today while there is still time?

            Even the world recognizes the power of words.

“Throughout human history, our greatest leaders and thinkers have used the power of words to transform our emotions, to enlist us in their causes, and to shape the course of destiny. Words can not only create emotions, they create actions. And from our actions flow the results of our lives.” Tony Robbins (Tony Robbins--American author of self help books, maker of infomercials, entrepreneur, philanthropist and life coach.)

“Your word is the power that you have to create; it is a gift.”  Don Miguel Ruiz (A Mexican author and New Age thinker who focuses on ancient teachings to achieve spiritual enlightment.)

“There is something about words. In expert hands, manipulated deftly, they take you prisoner. Wind themselves around your limbs like spider silk, and when you are so enthralled you cannot move, they pierce your skin, enter your blood, numb your thoughts. Inside you they work their magic.” Diane Setterfield (A British author, who is a New York Times No. 1 bestselling author.)

“There is power in words. What you say is what you get.” Zig Ziglar (Former motivational speaker and bestselling author.)

“Words: So innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.” Nathaniel Hawthorne (19^th Century, East Coast custom house inspector, and well known author of books such as The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables.)

“Words are containers for power, you choose what kind of power they carry.” Joyce Meyer (Well known Christian evangelist and bestselling author.)

            While some readers may argue about my choice of authors for the above quotes, there are literally hundreds from which I could have chosen.

Later...

            My wife and I are at the Jersey Shore this weekend. I’m looking out the dining room window at the darkening sky—the sun has set and the pastel pinks, grays, and Robin’s egg blue sky and clouds are beginning to fade; although where the sun dropped below the horizon the clouds are still fiery reds and oranges. The dead grass of the marsh is a dirty, dark brown in this light. The remaining light is being reflected off the mud flats of low tide and is a steel silver. The incoming tide hasn’t reached the marsh flats yet, but it too is a steel silver out in the bay.

            My thoughts have been captured by those eight words: the power of words to change the world. If the world thinks of words in the manner as the quotes above, what does God think of words?

I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name. Psalm 138:2 NKJV (bolding is mine)

            Earlier, God had said to Moses:

¹³ Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” ¹⁴ And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:13-14

30 minutes or so later...

            The eastern sky is now dark, but the western sky, near where the sun set is still very full of light pinks, blues and grays,  Although painted by the greatest Artist the world has ever seen, a Monet or a Renoir, 19^th century impressionist painters,  would be almost able to capture that sky on canvas. The red and green lights of the aids to navigation in the Intercoastal Waterway channel are blinking their warning; but since this is a February night there are no boats out to heed their warning flashes  There is a crescent moon in almost now cloudless sky.  

Later...

            Darkness...with a few causeway lights shimmering in the distance.

            But I digressed. How can God elevate His word above His name? I remember when that sentence first impacted me. It was only several years ago. I had read Psalm 138 at least two, if not three dozen times in my Christian walk. Verse 2 had never really struck me as important. But at that point in my life I was struggling, wrestling with God, to get hold of who He really was and to see answers to my prayers, answers to my questions, from His word.  Perhaps some of you remember the posts Dana and I wrote on the struggles that so often beset Christians and the wilderness wanderings we all go through:

https://foxholecowboysblog.blogspot.com/2016/08/blog-2-in-wilderness.html

https://foxholecowboysblog.blogspot.com/2016/08/blog-3-deep-rootedness-part-1_22.html

https://foxholecowboysblog.blogspot.com/2016/08/blog3-part-2-deep-rootedness-continued.html   I “talked” to God and my Evangelical Lutheran minister friend ad nauseam, trying to grasp what He really was saying to me (and all who call Him Lord and Savior) about the power of, and in, His word.

            The internet can be either a help, or a hindrance. While I was Googling the topic “god’s word above His name,” I came across a citation that caught my attention. It was a devotional or blog written by Don Walton, former pastor of New Hope Baptist Church of Zephyrhills, Florida, on 8/11/11

How sure can we be of what God has said? According to Psalm 138:2, absolutely sure! In one of the most incredible verses in the Bible, the Psalmist declares that God “has magnified [His] word above all [His] name.” In other words, God says He’ll step down as God if he ever fails to do anything that He has said. No wonder Jeremiah the prophet taught that God is always “watching to see that [His] word is fulfilled” (Jeremiah 1:12 NIV).

For the life of me, I can’t understand the embarrassment of contemporary Christians over the Bible. Why should we run from the rock solid foundation it provides for our lives and homes into the arms of a politically correct society with a foundation of sand that is as wishy-washy as the latest fickle public opinion poll? if (sic) you ask me, we should be proudly and loudly proclaiming the Bible’s immutable truths to a world that is drowning in the quicksand of relativism.

            (I believe Pastor Walton is definitely on the right track; although I’m going to let my Pentecostal roots show when I ask—if he believes as he does, why did he leave out in their statement of faith, among other things the Baptism in the Holy Ghost. Is this not also God’s word? When did it stop being His word and relevant? See the link to The Sixteen Fundamental Truths of the Assemblies of God, especially number 7 http://familywc.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/16-Fundamental-Truths.pdf But I digress...)

¹⁹ “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? ²⁰ Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. Num23:19-20

            So, what does all this have to do with those eight words we talked about earlier? Have God’s words changed your world? Or are your words in the spiritual world like spaghetti thrown against the wall?

            Time for bed... Out on the deck. Cold, but no wind so the distant lights are now leaving a smooth, path like reflection on the water. The night sky is clear and the constellation Orion is almost overhead. It is one of the easier, brighter star groups to pick out with the three stars of the belt and the sword.

The next morning...

            Almost time to pack up and head for home. Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology, has a sword hanging from his belt. But a sword doesn’t help the hunter or warrior if it’s kept in its scabbard. The same with God’s word. It must be used, taken out, spoken or confessed, and acted upon to do the job for which I believe God has intended for it. As 21^st century, generally comfortable, American Christians, who, generally, have enough—if not more than enough—of the modern comforts and expendable income, we don’t really need to depend on God and on His word. And couple that with what I consider to be a famine of teaching and messages on the power of His word, His spoken word, we are either ignorant of its power, afraid of it, consider it beneath us, or rationalize its usage only for earlier times when the people weren’t so sophisticated. But what does Paul say?

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For our struggle is not against ^[e]flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ^16 [f]in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Eph 6:10-17

             We take confession for granted as Christian’s in numerous ways, for example when one accepts Christ as Savior we confess His word:

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  Romans 10:9 & 10 ESV

            Or, as when James tells us to confess our sins that we may be healed:

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.  James 5:16 ESV

            Or when we are in some kind of trouble we cry out to the Lord for help:

¹⁹ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. ²⁰ He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. ²¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness               and for His wonders to the sons of men! Psalm 107:19-21 NASB

            I think most of the readers of this blog would all not just acknowledge, but heartily agree, that the few above scriptures have personally changed our individual worlds. But it seems as if we are satisfied with just a few drops of His blessings and help, rather than the deluge that I believe he wants for His children and for His children to use for the rest of their worlds. Twice in the Book of Luke we read how worlds, other than the disciples’, were changed when Jesus give authority to the 12 closest to Him and then to the 70 others to go out into communities, the highways and byways to use that authority to change the worlds’ of others.

^{Luke 9:1ff}  When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, ² and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.... ⁶ So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.

^{1uke 10: 1 ff NASB} Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. ² And He was saying to them... therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers....⁹ and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

¹³ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you.

            To me, it seems like in much of today’s Christian world, the focus is spent on teaching and preaching about Jesus response to the seventy ( ^19 “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. ²⁰ Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” Lk 10:19,20 NASB) rather than how they excitedly returned and told Jesus of the miracles that took place through their ministry. Yes, if a person’s name is not recorded in heaven in the Lamb’s book of life, it doesn’t matter what miracles might be done. But once our salvation is secure, we need to go to our worlds and be like the seventy and in Jesus name confess His word and labor to see Him work the miracles I believe He wants to do and bring the blessings He wants to give; His words changing the world.

            Oh, I forgot about the HVAC man who is coming this morning to look at our heating and air conditioning system. Got to sign off. I’ve had the topic of confession on my heart for a long time so I’ll pick this up in another post.  As outlandish as this may sound, I wonder if there is a theology of confession hidden in plain sight in God’s word?

 

Post 66-Funeral at Arlington National Cemetery

We were worried because of the forecast.  It was for one of the biggest snowstorms to hit the East Coast in a long time. Hoping to get ahead of the storm, we got a hotel room the night before in Arlington, Virginia, just a few minutes’ drive from the cemetery. Carol’s last, remaining, elderly relative was going to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The aunt’s first husband died in World War II allowing her the privilege to be buried there if she so chose.

When I lived in Northern Virginia some years ago, I had been to Arlington several times, always in warm weather but never for a burial. It sits on a gently sloping hill and overlooks Washington, D.C.  It is the final resting place of the Unknown Soldier of World War I and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was built on that site after Congress approved this as a forever memorial in 1921. This 624 acre site with about 400,000 graves is a place of history, serenity, beauty, honor, and patriotism. Numerous famous people are buried here: such as former Army soldier Abner Doubleday, the inventor of baseball; Anita Newcomb McGee, U.S. Army - First woman Army surgeon in 1898, and founder of the Army Nurse Corps in 1900; William Jennings Bryan a United States Army colonel, known for the Scopes Monkey Trial against Clarence Darrow; Lee Marvin, actor and U. S. Marine; or of course President John F. Kennedy, U. S. Navy PT boat captain in WWII. One of my favorite views of Washington, D. C. is seen from this gentle hillside. At night the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the Capitol Building with the moon rising in the background always stirs me.

The snow storm moved up the East Coast throughout the night. Cities along the coast, such as Virginia Beach, VA which got over 10 inches of snow and had near blizzard conditions and Cape May, New Jersey which got over 15 inches, were pounded by the storm. But fortunately, the DC area only received a couple of windblown inches. That was enough for schools to close, as well as many government offices, but not Arlington National Cemetery. Because we had to be at the cemetery by 9:15, still rush hour in that area, many people stayed home so the roads were almost free of traffic. We passed the famous Marine Corp Memorial—the raising of the flag on Mount Suribachi—and then turned into the entrance of the cemetery.  Unfortunately, due to terrorist threats to high profile, American targets such as this, we had to be approved and inspected by guards before being escorted to the waiting area.  The wind driven, light snow continued as we walked up to the administration building.

Carol’s aunt’s husband was serving in the Navy when he died, so we were to have a Navy chaplain. He met us in the comfortable waiting room. There was a closed circuit television showing the Tomb of the Unknown being cleared of the snow, and then the guards walking their post. A representative of the cemetery soon joined us, as did funeral home representatives who had driven down in near blizzard conditions earlier in the morning with the body. The Arlington representative was very kind, respectful, sensitive, and helpful. He is a former military man who, during some of his time in the service, had been a guard at the Tomb of the Unknown.  We needed his sensitivity and helpfulness.

I would like to say that all went smoothly, but it did not. Unfortunately, the funeral home dropped the ball and didn’t get all the necessary paperwork taken of. At first, the Arlington representative said the body, Carol’s aunt, was going to have to be returned to Pennsylvania until everything got straightened out. We began to pray. Then thanks to his helpfulness, and various electronic devices, calls and texts were made, and the needed forms were emailed. So we could proceed.  Needless to say, Carol was additionally distraught until God, the representative, and electronics squared things away.

Once everything was in order, we proceeded to the burial plot, following the representative in his car, and the hearse. We passed section after section of white headstones; row upon orderly row, the ground covered in snow. Placed at every headstone was a natural green wreath, each with a beautiful red bow. The ministry, Wreaths Across America,   http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org whose purpose is to remember, honor, and teach (especially children the importance of remembering and honoring those who have served) at military cemeteries across the country, lay wreaths at the headstones.  Hundreds of volunteers of all ages turn out in mid December to do this. 

 

                                   

                                                US Army photo by Rachel Larue

( For more on military cemeteries, including Arlington, go to https://taskandpurpose.com/arlington-national-cemetery-running-room/ )

 The chaplain, the Naval honor guard and casket bearers were waiting at Section 12. They slowly and precisely, took the casket and then carefully carried it across the snow covered ground, and at times, snow hidden tree roots, to the interment site. Green cloth covered chairs, by then covered in snow due to the initial paperwork confusion, were set out for the family. The wind whipped down the hill side and buffeted us as the chaplain said some very kind words, read a few scriptures and then ended the quick service. Because of the weather and illnesses among other family members, it was just Carol and me. Tears, due to the wind and the service, clouded our eyes. The Arlington representative said he would stand at the grave site and wait for the interment crew; acknowledging that the body in the casket was more than just a body, but the loved one of someone special.

Before we walked back to the car, we had a chance to chat for a few minutes with the representative. In an earlier conversation, we gathered he was a Christian. We talked about the day when Jesus will return for His own,

¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NIV

And we talked about how quickly this was going to happen:

⁵⁰ I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory”                                    1 Corinthians 15: 50-54 NIV

We had only known each other for about an hour but the brotherhood of the faith bound that kind and respectful representative and us to a bond of family far greater than that of the family member soon to be lowered into the ground. Brothers and sisters in Christ. And in Christ waiting and looking for His soon return, we were talking about and picturing the graves opening and in a twinkling of an eye, those soldiers and sailors, airmen and marines, husbands and wives would be rocketed into the air to join Christ forever.

Sadness, yes, as we carefully walked back to the car over the snow covered ground, but heartened to know God had been with us and we would soon be seeing Him. Praise the Lord!

As we drove away from the interment site, we looked back at the grave. The representative was standing tall, back to the blowing wind, honoring the wife of a Navy man, and Carol’s aunt. Lord, please remember all his help and kindnesses, and bless him and his family, wonderfully.

Earlier, when we were leaving the administration building to follow the representative to the grave site, another, but very large group of very well dressed people, accompanied by officers in uniform, were on their way in to meet their Arlington representative for the burial of their loved one. Now as we were driving away, we saw in another section that officer’s funeral. We had to stop at a cross road for a young man, in uniform, who was leading a magnificent black horse in "dress tack", with the saddle backwards, as well as the tall leather riding boots also facing backwards. The silver saber in its scabbard was clicking against the tack. It was a moving scene.

If you ever visit Washington, D.C. to tour the sites, drive west on Constitution Avenue NW and stop at the Vietnam War Memorial (The Wall) and walk a few steps around to the Nurses Memorial, perhaps walking over to the Lincoln Memorial. But then, please, get back in your car, go out of your way, and follow Constitution Ave. around the Lincoln, over the Arlington Memorial Bridge and into Arlington National Cemetery. It is open to visitors. Perhaps you’ll be there when Jesus returns, the graves open and those in Christ who have been asleep will rise to meet Him in the clouds of the air. Not even a snow storm will make a difference. According to the web site of Discovery World, the twinkle of an eye is as fast as

“Remember that the light entering the eye and reflecting as a twinkle happens in about a billionth of a second. So what does this have to do with anything in the Bible?   https://www.discoveryworld.us/science/a-wink-a-blink-and-a-twink/   (scroll down)