2 years

January 3, 2008

Happy New Year! Hope you all had a good time bringing in 2008. Vince and I played wii, wii, wii all the night long! Today marks the two year anniversary of Brandon's passing. Brandon was our best friend who died from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It is the hardest, deepest pain Vince and I have ever experienced, but we are so thankful that we were blessed with B's presence and friendship. He became a Christ-follower about 4 months prior to being diagnosed and it was amazing to see his faith grow. He was authentic, never afraid to be real, always forgiving and understanding, and I never knew him to look down on others. I am doing this purity study with Alex and just happened to start today. We looked up scripture and came upon Romans 8:28 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." The study asked us when we ever doubted God's love or ever doubted God's plan for you. Gosh, I know seeing B suffer and having to let him go, really tested my faith, and being vulnerable to Him was/is hard. It was neat to get to talk these things over with Alex and to know that I am God's daughter and that God does work all things out for good, if you do love God and live for God's purpose and not your own. So what does good look like? Great food, no sickness, long life, beauty, new cars and big houses, success in career? No, rejoicing in our suffering, because in suffering, this produces perseverance, proven character, and hope--this is what 'good' is. Suffering draws me to Christ which is good. Sometimes this really stinks, and I want to get away from spending time with God, but He is always there for me and will never leave nor forsake me. Brandon lived his last years by faith in Christ, "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." We miss him so much but KNOW that God has restored Brandon and glorified him through His Son. Here are some pics of B and of our friend Dave who passed away this past Sept. It would be great if you all could pray for these families. I pray that you all would be assured/know of the hope we have through Christ alone.