Happy Wednesday! My apologies for not writing last evening. We got in late from the concert at the Meyerson. The Arlington Choral Society along with select high school singers from Arlington Schools and the Arlington All-city Boys and Girls Choir were all performers in the concert. The concert was totally amazing. The singing was awesome. As Travis gets closer to graduation we will close the chapters in the lives of our children’s public school life. Last night marked the event that all three of our children have performed at the Meyerson. It was glorious.

Yesterday marked six months since we lost our beloved Casey. I had moments yesterday that were pretty tough. In my prayer time yesterday I asked God if the citizens of heaven missed their earthly loved ones. I know that this family misses him a lot. Most of the time I am okay, but there are times when I become overwhelmed by how much I miss my son. I really missed Casey last night at the concert. Casey loved coming to anything in which his brother and sister were involved. He came to their sporting events and their concerts and took such pride in their accomplishments. I figure our loved ones who are with Christ don’t miss us because they are so completely happy being in the presence of the Father all the time for all eternity. I also asked God if He could open up heaven just a little bit so Casey could hear his brother sing.

Great news! Geni was finally able to register for classes today. There were some obstacles in her path and she was really upset and concerned about not being able to register. Today, she was accepted into The teacher Education Program at UNT and they are helping her with her degree plan. She is so relieved and we are so excited and proud of her. Go Geni!!

Mark 16: 7 says, “He is going ahead of you to Galilee, there you will see Him.”

As we were in the hospital with Casey in his last days it became apparent that we were going to have to make some plans in the near future. I began to ask questions of the nurses and our pastor as to what to do when Casey died. I was in uncharted territory. The nurses were great and Pastor Joel was so helpful. The nurses told us to give them the name of the funeral home that would take care of Casey’s body and they made all of the phone calls. Next the gentleman who would take care of the arrangements came to our house and met every one of our needs in such a loving and kind way. He made this horrible reality very easy for us. And yet with all of these people helping us and all of the love being showered upon us there was still this 200 pound hole in our hearts that once had blue eyes, blond hair and a smile that would melt your heart. When I would get upset at the latest announcement of bad news by the doctors (I was the deliverer of all of the bad news) Casey would always say, “Mom, we will get past this and it will be okay.” I could always count on Casey to lift my spirits when I should have been the one lifting his. And now Casey is gone.

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus had just watched their savior and son die a horrific public death. And now there were arrangements to be made and family to notify and a funeral to plan. They, too, had a hole in their hearts. And even though they had heard that Jesus had been raised from the dead, they still had hearts full of grief. Whenever Mary Magdalene and Mary, the Mother of Jesus needed strength, they could always go to Jesus. Whenever they were feeling the pain of heartbreak they could go to Jesus and He would heal their pain and give balm to their aching souls. Jesus gave them peace in the midst of the conflict around them. And now Jesus is gone.

The Marys were approaching the tomb and were greeted by a young man who told them, “He is going ahead of you to Galilee, there you will see Him.” (v. 7) Mark tells all who seek Jesus and His peace to go to Galilee.

Where do we go to meet Jesus? Where do we go to find the peace that Jesus promised? Where do we go when we are in need of healing? We go to Jesus. We don’t go as the Marys went. We don’t go to Galilee, but we can still go to Jesus in prayer. We can go to Jesus in His Word. We can go to Jesus in the lives of other believers. Jesus through the Holy Spirit will meet us wherever we look for Him. Wherever we seek Jesus He will heal us from our pain of loss. Jesus will strengthen us when we are weak. When we call upon Jesus in His name He meets us where we are and meets our needs and heals our hearts.

Take joy in the journey. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.