Home in the country with Jesus

A year ago today dad went home. I'll never forget the day he let me know he was going. We were in his hospital room waiting for the ambulance to take him back to the house he'd lived in for over 40 years. I sat on his hospital bed when he said "it's a long way isn't it?" I was confused at first thinking he meant the drive from Alton Memorial to Granite. Then when he asked how I would see him and I saw his expression and childlike worry I realized it wasn't home to Granite he meant at all. In his confused state he thought he was returning to his boyhood home in the country and in his own way he understood he was going alone. Always a country boy at heart he longed to return there and in my mind that's where he is now, the country he yearned for and belonged to, his home in the country with Jesus. And he was right -- it is a long way but with faith and hope in my heart I believe I'll see him there some day.

This slideshow made in honor of dad shortly after his passing last year brings painful feelings of loss but also celebration and affirmation of his life. As Mel said so well -- losing dad left a void in our lives that can never be filled. It's comforting to know though he will live on in the hearts of those who loved him, forever.

Though in my heavenly country home,
I am closer than you know.
Believe that when you say my name,
I am standing next to you;
And know that when your time comes,
I’ll be there to take your hand,
And together we will be in God’s eternity