A Branch In the Vine

For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name... Isaiah 54:5

Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. Psalm 68:5

My dear friend,

I heard a song as I was walking this morning...and I thought of you!

I remembered a poem from days gone by...and I thought of you!

And I thought of grief and joy and love and life...and I thought of you, my precious sister-friend!

And I remembered your delightful, "crusty," out-spoken husband Don, who is now "exploring the mysteries of Christ."

Most of all, I remembered Jesus who has experienced grief and joy and love and life...all of it, so He knows!

So for you my darling Shirley (and for those you love and who love you and your Don) as you face the loss of your dear husband:

Grief Joy Love Life

And so first the poem:

Life Paul Laurence Dunbar

A crust of bread and a corner to sleep in, A minute to smile and an hour to weep in, A pint of joy to a peck of trouble, And never a laugh but the moans come double; And that is life!

A crust and a corner that love makes precious, With a smile to warm and the tears to refresh us; And joy seems sweeter when cares come after, And a moan is the finest of foils for laughter; And that is life!

And then the song:

God Is Love

All we hold is frail and briefPatched together by beliefThe pattern only partiallyRevealed for us to seeWhat are tears but seeds we sow?In fields unseen such harvest growWhose joys will one day overflowThe measure of our grief

REFRAINIf God is loveThen love we trustIs strong enough to hold our sorrowIf God is loveHe carries us We will not fear what comes tomorrowLove will heal usFor God is love

Then suffering's no enemyAnd poverty, no povertyAnd death our greatest victoryWhen swallowed up in life

REFRAIN

Though sorrow surge at every stepYet goodness is assuredFor none that harms or troubles hereWill speak the final wordLove speaks the final word

REFRAIN

Last fall in my adult writing/language class, I met a sweet sister in the Lord, Lisa Williams. All of us, teachers and students alike, fell in love with Lisa because of her kind, loving, gentle ways. But it wasn't long before we learned that Lisa was walking through a deep valley. She had lost her husband Ernie, the love of her life, barely a year before she started classes with us. I don't know much about her dear husband Ernie. But from what Lisa has shared, we could tell he was another brother who had been "arrested by the Risen Christ." When he had encountered the living Christ, his life was never the same again.

So listen in as Lisa shares about this precious brother...and rejoice in the "multi-faceted" ways the Lord shows forth His glory by birthing children into His kingdom.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself; is not puffed up; Does not behave rudely; does not seek its own; is not provoked, thinks no evil... 1 Corinthians 13: 4,5
If I were going to describe my wonderful, awesome husband to you, and I am, I would have to say that this scripture in Corinthians would describe him, his heart, and how he lived his life. When thinking of this scripture, I am also reminded of another scripture In James chapter 1: 17th verse, which says that "every good and perfect gift comes down from the father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." And that is what my husband, the love of my life, was -- a precious and valuable gift that was given to me.
My husband was the most patient and kind man I have ever known, always preferring someone else over himself. He was also very genuine and charming. It's no wonder why he quickly won my heart. But most of all, he loved and served Jesus, which drew us quickly together in a common bond, which quickly grew and flourished and became a deep love also for each other. Ernie did not come to know the Lord till he was a teenager. One night in a theater, he had gone with a youth group to see a movie called Time To Run, a Billy Graham gospel film. After the movie, they had an altar call, and he went forward and prayed to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, which changed him forever.
This was a true act of the Holy Spirit that day, drawing him. He didn't have a lot of trust in the ministers who were at the church he was attending. He had had many of them make promises to him after his dad had passed away at the young age of 13, promising him they would come spend time with him, but they never did.
Shortly after that, he was baptized and later he began to be used in the gifts, particularly the prophetic gifts, which worked so well with his very social personality. He loved people and enjoyed interacting with them. He loved to share the word with others and to discuss it. He led many to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.
After Ernie and I met and then married in September of 1982, we served together in our church in many different areas, like visitation, children's church, and many different out reaches. For 30 wonderful years, I had the pure joy of walking side by side with him, serving God with him and loving this truly awesome man, whom I love with ever fiber of my being. Often when I pray, I thank the Lord and express to him saying,
"Lord, you must really love me to have given him to me as my husband, to love and cherish. He has brought so much love into my life!"
On October 24th 2012, Ernie went home to be with the Lord. It was the most difficult day of my life. My heart felt shattered and broken into. I felt I could not go on without him. Though my heart was broken, I know one day I will be with him again in heaven, where we will be together for all of eternity.

It's hard to walk alone Without your love and your embrace My life has become an empty place It's hard to walk alone

It's hard to wake each day And know you won't be in it To walk with me and talk things through Just like we always used to do Oh, it's so hard to walk alone

It's hard to take each step That leads from where we were So much in love for sure It's hard to walk alone

I wish I had you still You meant the world to me Your love was my greatest blessing And there will never be another like you

I pray the Lord will see me through And heal my grieving heart Until that day when we never again will part It's so hard to walk alone

By Lisa Williams

Pray for our dear sister as she grabs hold of the Lover of her soul who has promised,

For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name... Isaiah 54:5

Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. Psalm 68:5

[youtuber youtube='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7uKp8IRSQw&feature=share']

A Branch in the Vine

Joy & Grief & Love & Life all mixed together: for Shirley

Arrested by the Resurrected Christ: a Love Story!

A Branch In the Vine