Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Uncle Harold


I have been absent from my blog for over a week now. In a lot of ways, I feel like I have been absent from life for the past week.

I received a real shocker of a phone call from my mom last Thursday. The phone call was one that came as a very REAL reminder about a few things. These things have been heavy on my heart, so I figured it was time to record what's going on in this brain of mine.

My Uncle Harold very suddenly passed away in his sleep last Thursday. This just five days after we spent our Saturday night as a family watching the Giants play on Television. It still doesn't seem real! He has left behind a wife who is experiencing HUGE heartache, as well as a daughter just a few years younger than I that has suddenly lost her daddy without even a chance to say good-bye.

I know God hears my heart as I have been begging him these last few days to PLEASE let me have the opportunity to say my final good-byes to both of my parents before He takes them. I know this because I have heard His voice speaking to me distinctly. He has reminded me that I should always live each day like it's my last. I should tell my loved ones EVERY DAY how much they mean to me and that I love them dearly. Our lives are not our own, and because of that... we do not know when we will take our final breath here on this earth. We do not know when we have heard the last words from one of our loved ones before they are taken from this place.

I was also reminded that sometimes... I just need to stay out of God's way. Just a few short weeks ago, J was out dropping off our van to be sold in a parking lot about 45 minutes from our house. He was waiting to get a ride back to his car so that he could get home to me { anxiously awaiting his arrival so we could go out on our date }. He couldn't get in touch with my step dad for a ride and he was stuck in this parking lot, so I begrudgingly told him I would travel down to get him. He told me to just wait... hang on... He knew something would work out. I sat { more like paced the house } and fumed inside! Ugh... I was supposed to be leaving the house RIGHT NOW for my long anticipated date!!! J called me about ten minutes later and told me that he had "run into" my Uncle Harold in the same parking lot. He was there dropping off his truck to sell. My aunt was supposed to stop by and pick him up on her way home from work. So... she would pick both of them up now and give J a ride to his car. Our date would be pushed back an hour or two, but better that than no date at all.

It wasn't until last Thursday night that I learned that even in situations like this one, God has purpose. As J and Uncle Harold waited in that parking lot, they talked about all kinds of "guy stuff". They talked about cars, about politics (my uncle LOVED to talk politics) and they talked about GOD! Yes... J didn't share this with me until learning about Uncle Harold's death last week, but somehow, in the craziness of that day, in this very crowded parking lot full of men and their cars, boats, RV's, and motorcycles... J and my uncle talked about God. The reason this is so cool, and so extremely significant is because all of my life, I haven't known my uncle to be a believer. His wife and daughter have always been, and they go to church every week. Uncle Harold would usually gift them with his presence on Easter Sunday and Christmas. In this conversation, Uncle Harold shared with J that he knew there was a God and he even considered himself to KNOW God, but he just didn't believe that he needed to be in a church to know Him. He saw how God had blessed him in the every day things around him and the things that he loved about life.

I am so proud of my hubby for acting on this nudging to talk about God in the parking lot. God already knew that just three weeks from that day, Uncle Harold would no longer be with us. J obviously didn't know this, but acted on a prompting that would later make so much sense. I only wish that I would have acted on my own prompting to be still when waiting for my "date". Sometimes... God is taking care of more important things.

Please keep my aunt and my cousin in prayer. They are experiencing such pain right now. I pray that they are left with the knowledge that my uncle loved them both so much. It's always been easy to see that both my aunt and my cousin hung his moon in the sky. I pray that there will be reminders for us all of how important it is to live each day like it is the last... That we not let anything stand in the way of sharing life, and sharing Jesus.... Even if it is on a Friday night in a crowded parking lot.

2 comments:

Alexis said...

Oh Tami! I am so sorry to hear of your sudden loss. May God bring you and your close extended family comfort and peace as you understand how He was in fact working in the life of your Uncle.

PraiseJunky said...

Thank you so much for sharing this. I am praying for you and your family during this time.