God is Still Good

     I love Christmas. It is a special time of year that brings back such precious memories for me. Christmas was always a big deal in my family. My sister and I would wake up early, usually before sunrise (and this continued into our later teens) just to see what presents we received. Then we would go to my GrannyJo's for breakfast with my mom's humongous family. My favorite sight at GrannyJo's house, aside from the tree that had so many presents underneath they would spill out so far you were stepping over gifts, was the mantle.

                                               (thanks to my cousin Micki Taylor for this picture)

      GrannyJo had 8 children, over 30 grandchildren, and I can't even tell you how many great-grandchildren. Every one who was at GrannyJo's house Christmas morning had a stocking hung on the mantle; you even had stocking if you had to be far away that Christmas. The first thing I did every Christmas morning upon entering GrannyJo's house was locate and empty my stocking to see what was inside. I look at this picture (above) and  I am filled with pure joy and excitement.
       However, the last couple of Christmases have also been very difficult. You see in July of 2011, GrannyJo was walking down the hallway of her home to wake up one of my cousins when she tripped and fell. She was taken to the hospital and never came home. That was the day the we lost the glue to our extended family.
      In the days that followed GrannyJo's death, I questioned God and I was angry. I could not understand why someone so wonderful and loving had to die. I was being selfish and I wanted my GrannyJo with me.
      Then I was reminded that GrannyJo is not missing me. I know that sounds harsh and is not all that comforting, but to me, it brings perspective. GrannyJo loved Jesus and trusted him as her Lord and Savior, and I have no doubt in my mind that she is Heaven. GrannyJo is basking in the glory of her heavenly Father; she is sitting at the feet of Jesus, and she thinks of nothing but worshiping God. GrannyJo is not bitter about being taken from this life; she is not angry that she is missing another Christmas; her heart is not broken about not seeing her family. She feels only the "good" emotions: love, joy, awe, peace, etc.
     When I am reminded about all that GrannyJo is experiencing, I am reminded that God is still good. God promises us eternal life if we believe in his son Jesus. God does not leave us to simply die, he carries us on to eternal life with him. Death is hard and it hurts to have someone you love taken away, but for those in Christ, death is not the end. God loves us so much that he sent us his son Jesus to take our punishment for sin, to provide a way to experience eternal life with him. God is still good!!

    God did not steal GrannyJo away from us and he was not punishing us for some wrong we have done. Life on this earth is not eternal, it has an end. We are all going to die because there is sin in this world, and sin always brings death. God does not seek out opportunities to bring us pain and he does not enjoy seeing us hurting. When Lazarus, a friend whom Jesus loved, dies in John 11, Jesus weeps with those mourning Lazarus' death. When we hurt, God hurts with us. God's goodness does not change because of hard circumstances.
     So why I am writing this blog? Why I am talking about God's goodness in the face of death? I am doing it partly to remind myself that God is good. I have moments when my grief punches me in the gut and I don't know how I will take my next step. I need to remember that God is good and trustworthy and that he loves me. I am also writing this for my family. So many members of my family are hurting, they miss their mother, their grandmother, their friend. I hope to bring some comfort. I hope to urge them to lean on Jesus. Ultimately, I want every member of my family to trust in God's goodness and love.
    I am going to end by including the lyrics to a song by Jars of Clay, All My Tears. We sing this song at my church often and I can't make it through the song without crying. Every time we sing this song, I think of GrannyJo, who is in her Father's arms.

                          "All My Tears"

When I go, don't cry for me
In my Father's arms I'll be
The wounds this world left on my soul
Will all be healed and I'll be whole.
Sun and moon will be replaced
With the light of Jesus' face
And I will not be ashamed
For my Savior knows my name.

It don't matter where you bury me,
I'll be home and I'll be free.
It don't matter where I lay,
All my tears be washed away.

Gold and silver blind the eye
Temporary riches lie
Come and eat from heaven's store,
Come and drink, and thirst no more

It don't matter where you bury me
I'll be home and I'll be free
It don't matter where I lay
All my tears be washed away

So, weep not for me my friends,
When my time below does end
For my life belongs to Him
Who will raise the dead again.

It don't matter where you bury me,
I'll be home and I'll be free.
It don't matter where I lay,
All my tears be washed away.