In November of 2022, God would start my family on a journey into the darkest valley of our lives. Indeed, it would be my late wife, Robyn’s, last valley on this earth. This page is simply to offer a place for those who want to follow the whole story without searching or clicking back through the many other blog posts. It was a year of sorrow and suffering, but a year where God was faithful and good as always. I hope the following posts will encourage you in your walk with God. And if you too face suffering in the valley, may the God of the universe, creator and sustainer, He who called all things into existence with His very word, bring you the comfort that only He can bring.
Robyn’s Story
The Season of Hospice
Part 1 – We enter hospice, holding hands and holding to the Lord.
Part 2 – We are living in hospice and considering what hope looks like when death is on the horizon.
Part 3 – How can we have hope in the midst of such sorrow? Here I tell of the source of our hope for anyone who is suffering.
Part 4 – At this point we have been in hospice an incredibly long time, considering Robyn’s prognosis. We have been so very blessed by God with extra time with her. But Robyn and I talk and change our prayer from “just a little longer” to “bring her home, Lord.” Her body is in so much pain. She sleeps so much of the time. She knows the next step is heaven. And this post was one of the most joy-filled and sorrow-filled that I wrote. Joy, because God would be receiving Robyn into her inheritance soon. Sorrow, because we on earth would not see her for many years.
The Season of Death
Part 5 – This was posted the day after Robyn died.
Part 6 – This was posted after I returned home from the funeral.
The Season of Reflection
Part 7 – This post marks a time of reflection. This doesn’t really end for me, or anyone who loses a loved one. But, the next few posts are all related to thinking about life and death. Something we all should think about.
Part 8 – These are Robyn’s words. She composed them to be read at her funeral. I still grow so proud and sad when I read them. She was truly an amazing woman and I was privileged to be married to her for 22 years.
Part 9 – Reading a familiar passage in Hebrews on the backside of loss raised a new thought in my mind. This is a good thing for Christians to think about.
Well, there you have it. The story doesn’t really end here, but for the blog it does. As I add any further reflections, I’ll update this page. But there is another season that still needs to be written down. The story of how God cared for my family and brought a new wife and mother into our lives, in a much faster timeline than I ever expected. But that’s not Robyn’s story. That’s my story, and my kids’ story. And it’s my new wife’s story too. I start to tell the story of Melissa here. But the story of Melissa, or me, or the kids, or even Robyn, all these stories are but supporting characters really. They are about us, but they aren’t really about us. These stories all point to the main character in the biggest story. They all point to the Creator of the universe. The one who lived, and loved, and died, and raised again. The One who defeats death and sin and Who saves His own. And it is to Him that we offer all thanks and honor and praise.
I hope you too can get to know, in a personal way, the God who both gives and takes, and and has every right to do so. Trust me, and trust all the others who have walked the path of suffering that He sets before us. Trust me when I say that He is only, and always, good.
Thoughts Worth Thinking 