Happy Tuesday!

Today was the first day back for the students in FWISD. I was greeted by excited children, a new student and some sad news. Duane Gohlke passed away on Monday. The picture is of me talking with Duane at a reception given for him last July.

Duane was my high school choir director and so much more. He became my mentor in so many ways. He was a brilliant man with a wonderful sense of humor, a brilliant mind, perfect pitch and a lifelong love of music. Duane taught me to sing. He taught me to never accept anything less than the best in myself. He always told me, “Helvey (my maiden name), all I expect you to be is perfect.” Today in my morning devotion it closed with this sentence, “To die is to be with Christ, but to remain on earth is to be a blessing to others.” Duane is now with Christ and while he was on earth he was a remarkable blessing in my life.

1 Peter 3:15-16 “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear, having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.”

This passage tells us that our salvation is grounded in the hope of the resurrected Christ. I have had a number of people ask me how I got through the battle and loss of our son to cancer. I always say God never left our side for a moment and that I always believed in hope. Our wonderful oncologist Dr. Adams told us a number of times that “the destination is never in question, but sometimes the journey sucks.” Yes, cancer is devastatingly horrible, but hope in our Lord and Savior is always the right thing. I always knew that no matter what the outcome of this disease, Casey would be alright. He would either come back home with us or he would go home to God. Home was Casey’s favorite place and either way, the journey would take him there.

I am often questioned as to why I did not feel anger at God during this time. My answer is simple in that God did not give Casey cancer nor did Casey invite this disease, it just happened. There was nothing to be mad about, a number of other emotions for sure, but not anger. I think it is because I believed that the crucified Christ was in the midst of the battle with Casey and all of us. God worked through all of us - Bruce, Casey, Geni, Travis and me to model how a family of faith walks through a horrible situation.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to lift each other up in prayer each day. 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.

Prayer alert: Please pray for the Gohlke family, Bobbie (Duane’s wife), Josh, Jenny and their children.