As many of my regular readers will know, I have been away from my blog for the past few days. This is because I spent this past week on vacation sorting through my mother’s belongings with my sisters. Obviously, such an endeavor brought back a flood of memories related to this precious lady, who passed away the last week of May.
While we are not yet ready to dispense with everything, the time had certainly come to begin the process of thinning out certain things - especially everyday items such as clothes, shoes, and the like…
I must confess that I left much of this to the decision of my sisters. I myself am more interested in written records. And it was on those that I focused. My mom was an avid reader. She also had the knack of writing; and had written down much of her life story. Had she come along under different circumstances, or at least in a different time, she might well have been a novelist. Either way, she wrote down her life story in numerous vignettes. And for this, I will be eternally grateful.
Among her other documents, in addition to financial records and other such legal papers, we found many personal keepsakes. It is one such document, a novelty version of a QUIT CLAIM DEED, that particularly caught my attention…
While we are not yet ready to dispense with everything, the time had certainly come to begin the process of thinning out certain things - especially everyday items such as clothes, shoes, and the like…
I must confess that I left much of this to the decision of my sisters. I myself am more interested in written records. And it was on those that I focused. My mom was an avid reader. She also had the knack of writing; and had written down much of her life story. Had she come along under different circumstances, or at least in a different time, she might well have been a novelist. Either way, she wrote down her life story in numerous vignettes. And for this, I will be eternally grateful.
Among her other documents, in addition to financial records and other such legal papers, we found many personal keepsakes. It is one such document, a novelty version of a QUIT CLAIM DEED, that particularly caught my attention…
As you can see, I have taken the liberty of removing what was written in. But it was clear from what had been written that she had given to the Lord not just her material possessions, but also every heavy burden she had carried with her from her past, including painful failures, broken dreams, and personal regrets. To her credit, she also gave to the Lord all of her hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the future.
And she obviously meant this; for while he listed herself as the earthly aforesaid items, under the witnesses she had listed Almighty God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
As I sat reading this, I felt the tears well up inside me. Being her child, I knew many of the past items of which she now desired to let go. I also knew all too well the many hopes and dreams and aspirations she harbored. And now, I knew above all else that she had entrusted these things to God!
But I knew one other thing as well. I knew the reality was that I had not yet done what she had done – at least not completely. There were things in my own life that I had not yet given wholly over to God. I needed to do so. And I resolved to do so as well. Suffice to say that a son has now followed the lead of his Godly mother.
What about you? Of what do you need to let go? What part of your past, present, or future do you need to give completely over to God? Why not follow the admonition of Holy Scripture (in the First New Testament Letter to Peter, chapter 5, verse 7) and cast all your cares upon the One God Who truly cares for you?!
To my knowledge, the document that I cleaned up with white out and then inserted above is not copyrighted. I pasted it in as a simple j-peg file. Therefore, why not simply print it off right now and fill it in?! Why not sign a QUIT CLAIM DEED of all your past regrets, present worries, and future fears over to God this very moment?! Trust me... You’ll be very glad that you did!
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE: http://biblehub.com/1_peter/5-7.htm
And she obviously meant this; for while he listed herself as the earthly aforesaid items, under the witnesses she had listed Almighty God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
As I sat reading this, I felt the tears well up inside me. Being her child, I knew many of the past items of which she now desired to let go. I also knew all too well the many hopes and dreams and aspirations she harbored. And now, I knew above all else that she had entrusted these things to God!
But I knew one other thing as well. I knew the reality was that I had not yet done what she had done – at least not completely. There were things in my own life that I had not yet given wholly over to God. I needed to do so. And I resolved to do so as well. Suffice to say that a son has now followed the lead of his Godly mother.
What about you? Of what do you need to let go? What part of your past, present, or future do you need to give completely over to God? Why not follow the admonition of Holy Scripture (in the First New Testament Letter to Peter, chapter 5, verse 7) and cast all your cares upon the One God Who truly cares for you?!
To my knowledge, the document that I cleaned up with white out and then inserted above is not copyrighted. I pasted it in as a simple j-peg file. Therefore, why not simply print it off right now and fill it in?! Why not sign a QUIT CLAIM DEED of all your past regrets, present worries, and future fears over to God this very moment?! Trust me... You’ll be very glad that you did!
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE: http://biblehub.com/1_peter/5-7.htm