Searching for Life Abundant

The growing season has finally arrived, and I cannot stop searching for all the beauty. It seems this year, more than ever, my heart is starved for signs of life abundant.

Death has stalked me too. My oldest brother died this spring, and with that I am the sole survivor of my immediate family. Both parents and all three older brothers are in Heaven now. I can’t quite wrap my head around that one.

So I pause in my searching…

The oldest brother loved his hostas. I scan our yard for their growing tips here, rejoicing in the gift of one new “Praying Hands” cultivar given in his honor.

The middle brother loved the animals, wild and tame, both. I hear the song birds telling me the stories of his care for all the creatures.

The youngest brother was the scavenger, always calling to tell me of his latest find. “Did I ever tell you about the stand of wild asparagus down by the railroad tracks?”  The wildflowers speak his name to me.

And I wonder, how is it that a little sister like me, who always felt “less than,” could be so blessed to hold all their stories?

When my oldest brother was told he had incurable pancreatic cancer, and would not last long on this earth, something miraculous happened to him. The love and peace of God overwhelmed him and bubbled out of him like a bathtub too full of “Mr. Bubbles.” (I’m telling my age now, a child of the 60s. 😂)

Every story of God’s working in his life suddenly had to be shared so the next generation would remember.

Every person that touched his life, from the nurse, to the housekeeper, to the surgeon, was now someone who needed cheering, and he called it his “ministry of jokes.” But those jokes opened yet another way for the stories of God’s love to be shared.

“Mind if I pray for you?” was his constant connection.

And I wonder, how is it that a little sister like me, who always felt so small, standing next to his 6ft frame, could be made to feel so big with that overflowing love?

I was filled with awe as I realized those three big brothers of mine, who held some very differing opinions from each other, were finally dwelling in God’s peaceful love  together! I cried thinking of the joy they were sharing.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

–Psalm 133:1 KJV

My parents have been in Heaven for many years now too, but recently I pulled my Mom’s old Bible off of my bookshelf and started using it in my daily reading. I did not know that less than a week after I opened those pages, my brother would begin his last few weeks on this earth. It became my daily joy to share a passage that she had highlighted. Over and over again the next chapter would contain just the verse that we each needed to hear in our daily phone chats.

Until the morning after he had stepped into Heaven, the verse almost jumped off of the page, as I knew it was meant for my encouragement this time. I had just read the note where my niece told us of how moments before my brother’s passing, he had opened wide his eyes and looked up, and smiled. I read the words in front of me with more wonder than I could express:

And I knew. Death can stalk us, but it can never win. Our Saviour has won the victory, and given us all the help we could ever need.

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

–1 Corinthians 15:55-57 NIV

My brothers were right. These stories of life are worth giving our time to share. They are the priceless treasures that our hearts are meant to hold and to pass along. They are the gift of our Heavenly Father, meant to lift our eyes heavenward where He is pouring His love over His children.

Just like a bathtub filled too full with “Mr. Bubbles.”

Not long before my brother passed, God gave me a miracle that I never thought would happen. Into this life overcome by RA flares and constant pain, my rheumatologist approved a short burst of extra high Prednisone so that I could travel to see him. It had been 11 years since I last saw him. Both of our health concerns had limited our travels.

But oh what joy to sit next to him, and share those treasured moments together! When I returned home, this art journal-spread poured out of me, knowing he was in the hands of our Lord, the safest place to be. And I could wait for our next reunion

Jesus so loves His children, the sheep of His pasture. And He calls each one of us by name, knowing that we can’t help but run when He calls us Heavenward.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 

1 John 3:1 NIV

I was so blessed to write and record a poem for my brother’s funeral. And then my nephew blessed me by creating this YouTube video to share it. I pray these words would stir your heart to look up and ask God to show you the gift of His stories in your own life.

I am linking with #RememberMeMonday, #WeekendTrafficJamReboot