god's timing

God's timing often makes me smile. I was asked to sing for a funeral service yesterday - for a person I had never met, didn't know the family, didn't know a single person involved other than the acquaintances who were friends of the family and asked me to sing. It was a service for someone who made no claims of knowing or following Jesus and that aspect of the service was so powerfully absent to me.

Sunday, Feb. 22nd, marks a year since my Mom passed away (thus the comment about God's timing!). It was difficult to sit and listen yesterday to wonderful things being said about someone and know there is a good chance they didn't love Jesus or know him as their Savior. I was reminded of how precious it is to me to know that regardless of the sometimes difficult personality traits and issues that I had with my Mom - she did know Jesus and the service we had for her a year ago was a time of not only celebrating the life she had here but a time of celebrating the life she was beginning - the eternal life that started at 9am on Feb. 22, 2008 - WHAT A THING TO CELEBRATE!!!

Opposite that celebrating is the reminder that there are thousands of families in our region who don't know Jesus - who are going to lose a loved one without the privilege of the hope that their earthly death marks their commencement of life in the presence of Jesus. I need to be motivated by that reminder daily as I cross paths with some of those families! I need to find spaces in my life to cross paths with them!!