tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1291979819993301652024-03-24T18:33:20.017-05:00Mourning for MicahOn Monday, July 27, 2009, my son, Micah Robert Wessman, went to his eternal home in Heaven after only 9 short months here on earth, his temporary home. This blog is a journal of our grief and how I am trying to lean upon the promises of God and my hope in Jesus Christ in order to meet the great challenges of grieving my son.Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.comBlogger199125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-53112421122449763792022-07-27T18:31:00.002-05:002022-07-27T18:31:21.001-05:00Thirteen Years<p> Thirteen Years today since Micah went ahead of us into
eternity. Our lives are far more bearable today than in the past 13
years. We are very blessed with three great living kids, a nice house,
and jobs that seem to pay enough to put enough food on the table and even in
the dog dish.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But we are not alone when we say with certainty that no
amount of pleasant earthly circumstances can completely salve the wounds we
experienced on July 27, 2009. Whether you are a fellow bereaved parent
like me, or someone who has already endured another form of significant
suffering, you know just how deep human grief and suffering can travel into the
depths of your soul. Our lives were meant for eternity and for God, and
significant suffering provides us with the blessing of knowing that nothing on
this side of eternity can fill the void that only God can fill. </p><p class="MsoNormal">On this
13<sup>th</sup> anniversary of Micah’s death, we are again reminded of that
which is our sole solace and hope, which is the redemption of all things, for
all time, for all beings, for our good, and to God’s glory, when Jesus comes
back to take us His bride to Heaven.<o:p> "No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9. </o:p>Hope for the Mourning is not ultimately found not in this world, but the
next. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-25672183619628882092021-07-27T14:01:00.003-05:002021-07-27T14:01:45.436-05:00Twelve Years: High Expectations of Heaven<p><i>“<b>Under-promise
and over-deliver.</b>” </i> With the guidance of mentors, I have tried
to implement this business proverb into my law practice. But what of those who don’t seem to mind
over-promising? Are we willing to rely
upon their boasts? When it comes to
faith, are we willing to take a chance on God, even though many of us have been
abused by the unmet promises of salesman whose follow-up mantra is, “buyer
beware,” and “all sales final.” </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Today, July 27<sup>th</sup>, marks the 12<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of the death of our oldest son Micah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we mark yet another year without him, a
friend and fellow grieving dad and I recently contemplated how we would
interact with our deceased sons once we see them again in heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Specially, how will they appear to us?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will our sons appear the age of when they
died on earth, or the age that they would be now, on earth, if they had not
died?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More generally, will we even
recognize our son?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What information will
they already have, and what will we need to catch them up on?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have low expectations for the coffee I (rarely) buy at a
gas station.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I try to keep my
expectations reasonable when it comes to my kids’ behavior, school and sport
performance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am a relatively
easy-to-please consumer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The “cost” to
me of these expectations is relatively low, because I did not give up much in
return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have not staked my life
satisfaction on these expectations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
when it comes to my expectations for the results of significant suffering, such
as the death of my son, I have extremely high expectations. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">God makes audacious claims for those who stick it out in
faithfulness to him and remain faithful to the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God has promised an eternity to us, his
faithful children, that is currently uncontemplated for even the most
imaginative of human minds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In his first
letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No
eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has
prepared for those who love him.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1
Corinthians 2:9.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In Revelation 21:3-6, we read about Jesus’ bold, unmatched
claims, claims that will either lead to us being the most pitiable of all mean
for trusting in His promises, or be met in unspeakable glory for their grand
fulfillment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling
place of God is with man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He will dwell
with them, and they will be his people, and God himself with be with them as
their God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He will wipe away every tear
from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning,
nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he who was seated on the throne said,
Behold, I am making all things new….to the thirsty I will give from the spring
of the water of life without payment. ”</i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel, Brothers Karamazov, the main
character Ivan Karamazov, attempts to make sense of suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About the end result of our suffering, we
says, “I believe like a child that suffering will be healed and made up for,
that all the humiliating absurdity of human contradictions will vanish like a
pitiful mirage….that in the world’s finale, at the moment of eternal harmony,
something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts,
for the comforting of all resentments, for the atonement of all the crimes of
humanity, of all the blood that they’ve shed; that is will make it not only
possible to forgive but to justify all that has happened.”<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I expect that in the world’s finale we will not have a
collective memory purge of our sufferings, but a full recognition of the
meaning and purposes of our sufferings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s
“making all things new” will show us the meaning to our deepest sufferings,
such deep and profound meaning that each and every one of us will be glad for
how God worked through suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
will see how God has so orchestrated all of human existence, between human
relationships and events, across thousands and thousands of years, that our
suffering will turn out for God’s glory and our good.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If I were to die now, I imagine a game of baseball catch
with my 13-year old son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We would play
under the shade of the cherry tree we planted in Minneapolis the summer after
he died, having full knowledge of the pain that his death caused us, but by
reason of the demonstrated goodness of God, knowing that God’s redemptive
purposes made the pain worthwhile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
we have wept a thousand times for our Micah, we shall live ten thousand times
ten thousand years together in eternity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And not just us, but all of us can live in high expectations
of God’s redemptive purposes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each of us
will say, about our individual and collective sufferings, “Yes, it was worth it
all, in the end.” Our losses during a finite lifespan will ultimately be viewed
like finite drops of water in an infinite ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How much more significant are the
relationships forged through the fire of affliction in contrast to a few years
of life lived in relative ease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I fully
expect that God will over-deliver on His promises, even with such audacious claims.<o:p></o:p></p>Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-63275879362484409072021-04-04T19:24:00.002-05:002021-04-04T19:26:49.370-05:00Our Weakness As Godly Gain<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mvk8CAilaGkPsoB9MjnnIIQCaEmiI-aGIgtW0a50pzhxe8VICsRhPaYQiNfatCAAXlPjnrt-I8TmvgcvC4E6UMBMS53G5tdOmJji4YKsPmYs9DRRDcxY641nYjdJPf4bj2BiMo9WBeo/s640/Easter+2021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mvk8CAilaGkPsoB9MjnnIIQCaEmiI-aGIgtW0a50pzhxe8VICsRhPaYQiNfatCAAXlPjnrt-I8TmvgcvC4E6UMBMS53G5tdOmJji4YKsPmYs9DRRDcxY641nYjdJPf4bj2BiMo9WBeo/s320/Easter+2021.jpg" /></a></div><br /> On this Easter, I have been reflecting on how the nature of
our “topsy-turvey,” upside-down, inside-out, role-reversed faith. At
Easter, we revel in the fact that we are not saved by our own good acts, the
length of our lives, or the wealth we accumulate or give away. Instead,
we stand in complete and utter dependence on Jesus’ physical death and physical
resurrection more than 2,000 years ago. Our hope is inextricably tied to
the power of the Resurrection of Jesus. <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">In 1 Corinthians 1:27, Paul
writes,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">“God chose what is weak in the
world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world,
even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human
being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him who are in
Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and
sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who
boasts, boast in the Lord.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Many of us who lost children in infancy or youth struggle
with understanding God’s purposes and the child’s ongoing legacy. So many
of us wanted a different legacy for our children. But the great role
reversal of the Christian faith is that we have every assurance that the
eternal destiny and legacy of those who are saved by Christ is secure by reason
of Jesus’ work for us. Jesus is my wisdom, my righteousness, my redemption,
just as Jesus is Micah’s wisdom, righteousness, and redemption. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To the degree that we can “boast,” or take pride in, our own
achievements, we have the tendency to focus our thoughts and efforts on those
tasks. But if we are weak in the eyes of the world – if we are sick, sad,
stupid, disheveled, and poor--we remove some of our natural inclinations
towards making much of ourselves. When you feel week in the eyes of the
world, how does that magnify God? To the degree that we spend little to
no focus on our own merits and efforts to merit attention, we magnify God’s
good name. In some sense, then, I must align my own legacy in humility to
be the same as my first born and now deceased son Micah’s legacy.
On this Easter, we do well to align our true subjective hope with the objective
reality of the Resurrected and Risen Lord. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-32703160202789622262020-07-27T20:48:00.000-05:002020-07-27T20:48:05.618-05:0011th Anniversary of Micah's Homegoing<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEA0Ow8u9Qqe20W2LWOFaBViLLQ2vh3XlXCaNvioMllXnMSTAuN9ObY-qY-OKsGEA6GAPWlyAofMaJEGzt6ba3kdYPycRNEwcnDvgscOSsjIvgPDRQLvSvs4ch7Ajdfc6PNn4WFPSDJGg/s1600/IMG_0287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEA0Ow8u9Qqe20W2LWOFaBViLLQ2vh3XlXCaNvioMllXnMSTAuN9ObY-qY-OKsGEA6GAPWlyAofMaJEGzt6ba3kdYPycRNEwcnDvgscOSsjIvgPDRQLvSvs4ch7Ajdfc6PNn4WFPSDJGg/s320/IMG_0287.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today marks the 11<sup>th</sup> anniversary of Micah’s sudden
death on July 27, 2009. Without a doubt,
we miss Micah’s presence with our family.
We wonder how each of Owen, Brendan and Kinsley would have benefitted
from having an older brother. Both our
kitchen table and our dining room table have room for six, and so we are always
sitting with that one empty chair—a thrice daily reminder of the weight of the
loss we have endured. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On this 11<sup>th</sup> anniversary of Micah’s unexpected
death, Heather and I have also felt the weight of the continued outpouring of the
love and support from our family and friends.
We marvel at the time and personal expense absorbed by those who have taken
the time to write, call or meet us in order to support us in our grief. We are amazed at the generosity of friends
and even acquaintances who have given so generously to Hope for the Mourning so
that the ministry can reach out to fellow grieving parents. We glad to report that our work days were
very unproductive by reason of all the emails, texts and calls we
received. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Again on this anniversary, we thank the Lord again for these
fellow grieving couples who showed us God’s love, even through their own
brokenness in grief. To paraphrase and
apply the words of encouragement from Paul in 2 Corinthians 4, our friends are,
in their sacrifices to us, “carrying in <u>their bodies</u> the death of
Jesus,” so that the life of Jesus might be displayed in <u>the lives of Cory
and Heather Wessman.</u>” <i>2 Corinthians
4: 11. </i>These friends have taken it
upon themselves to absorb a cost of some kind on our behalf, whether emotional,
physical, time or financial, so that we can be encouraged. It is our prayer that, in some small way, we
can take on that same “death” in our own bodies. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Earlier today, about fifty of our friends showed us this
sacrifice in very tangible terms. Beginning
at 5:30 am this morning, we conducted our third annual “Hills for Hope”
challenge. Each of the participants agreed
(yes, of their own free choice!) to complete an obstacle course that entailed: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Running straight up the “Bigfoot” Ski Run at
Hyland Hills ski area, then back down;<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Completing 10 burpees, 20 pushups and 30 situps;<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Repeating 1 and 2 as many times as possible (one
“loop”) over 90 minutes!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The participants pledged a “poor loop” pledge. With a total of 334.5 loops completed, our
team was able to raise $12,919 for Hope for the Mourning!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">These friends quite literally carried pain and
weakness in their bodies for 90 minutes (well, and for an indeterminate number
of days following today’s event) in order to allow the life of Jesus to be displayed
in others. Just as others have used their own sufferings to bless us in our own
grief journey, these friends suffered in a physical and financial sense, in
order to encourage us and others. Thanks,
friends, for carrying the cost in our bodies, in order that we might experience
the love of Christ in our own lives, and pass along that love to others through
Hope for the Mourning.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span>Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-56439381482310580292020-04-11T14:52:00.001-05:002020-04-11T14:52:21.258-05:00A "COVID-19" Easter Saturday<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
We live in unprecedented times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our schools, jobs, and churches are all
physically closed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our family members
are sick and might even be dying, with no help on the immediate horizon for a
vaccine for the COVID-19 coronavirus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Many of us have lost jobs or, if we have not lost our job, have taken
pay cuts and are forced to work from home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There, we try to keep our careers afloat while also trying to manage the
education of our children under less than ideal learning environments.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are experiencing, to a lesser extent, what the disciples
felt on that “Easter Saturday.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Six days
prior, their long-awaited savior had entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the
accolades of the Jewish onlookers, those who hoped in Jesus as their long-awaited
political savior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the span of a few
short days, all of the hopes of those closest to Jesus were dashed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
might try to imagine just how devastated those disciples felt that
Saturday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They put all their “eggs in
one basket” and, when their Savior breathed his last breath on that dark Friday
afternoon, they felt like they lost everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With the benefit of scripture and history, we can see how much the
disciples “missed” when it came to the prophecies of Jesus’s resurrection, both
from the Old Testament prophets as well as Jesus himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet we are similarly caught in the historical
moment, grieving the loss of what we had assumed to be ours; certain, or at
least predictable, outcomes for our family, our careers, and our finances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In these most difficult of times, God calls us to trust him for
the health of our family, for our career and finances and even the educational
outcomes of our kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must trust him
for the fact the He will provide, even though we can’t presently see how He will
provide.<u> </u><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Bible says that God’s
riches and wisdom are so deep, that his judgements are “unsearchable” and that
his ways are beyond “tracing out.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Romans
11:33.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we won’t understand all of
God’s ways, that does not mean that there are not good and noble purposes being
achieved through our present circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the book of Job, we see a righteous man lose it all--his
family, his fortune, and even his health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Job expresses his grievances
against God for God’s plan, a plan that while we can see through the Biblical
narrative, Job was never granted access to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As God came to Job in the whirlwind, God reminded Job to whom it was,
precisely, that Job was airing his grievances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>None of us built the universe, including its gravitational forces, all
living beings therein, and even the corona virus itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We cannot see how time and space interact; we
cannot see the end from the beginning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Job 38-41).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While God ultimately
provided Job another family, his fortune and his health, he was never given
access to God’s plan for his life.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since we are within time and space, we can not be so
presumptuous as to believe that we know the outcome of our present difficulties.
Should not the COVID-19 crises alert us to the very dependency on God that our
life circumstanced had heretofore masked?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Is it possible that God wants to do something through our professional
and family life to achieve an outcome more eternally significant than the
outcome we planned for ourselves and our family?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Earlier today, we made our annual “easter weekend” visit to
Micah’s cemetery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There, we talked to our
living kids about death, grief, and what it might mean to be resurrected when
Christ comes again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly, these precious
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>gospel opportunities might have been
created through other means had Micah not died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But if any one of our living child’s faith journey, or anyone else’s
faith journey, has been positively impacted by the story of our deceased
Micah,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it will redound to God’s glory in
orchestrating such an outcome through Micah’s death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We live in the hope that a thousand, or
perhaps even a hundred thousand, such gospel opportunities will, in the end,
demonstrate the goodness of God in orchestrating a life and death that is
otherwise difficult to accept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But regardless of whether we find any circumstantial
blessings to our present sufferings, we must immerse ourselves in the promises
of scripture so that we can live in the joy of our eternal significance.<u><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></u>After all, COVID-19 has taken nothing
from us that is of eternal significance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If we focus exclusively on the loss of our income, relationships and
physical opportunities, we will miss these opportunities to focus on our eternal
blessings that cannot be lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1 Peter
1: 3-6 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By his great mercy He has given us new birth
into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and
into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in
heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation
that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On Easter Saturday, the disciples needed to wait upon the
Lord only for a few short hours before their hopes and dreams were realized
with the empty tomb, with Jesus Christ resurrected. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In our case, how long will we need to
wait?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether for a few hours or a
lifetime, let us pray and wait in hope, knowing that, as has often been said,
“It is Friday, but Sunday is coming!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Happy Easter to you and your family from the Wessman household.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-43110393794472594772019-07-27T14:01:00.002-05:002019-07-27T15:01:34.323-05:0010 Blessings on the 10th Anniversary<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today marks ten years since Micah’s death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On this 10<sup>th</sup> anniversary, Heather
and I thought we would share ten ways in which Micah’s short life and sudden death
continue to impact us, even ten years later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDK-oJBb54C2x8v6C7AUcoFEPrzZaJKibDEBtAmYHBmoidFd3MNtE9vI4B93CuNtEJ1SkPWbXSGBSrX_-69ITLX1jR4IO5NYaWj89QE9i30FDrw-6GwlTaKKNu1xeauCZCp6vK7JGPPw/s1600/IMG_0221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDK-oJBb54C2x8v6C7AUcoFEPrzZaJKibDEBtAmYHBmoidFd3MNtE9vI4B93CuNtEJ1SkPWbXSGBSrX_-69ITLX1jR4IO5NYaWj89QE9i30FDrw-6GwlTaKKNu1xeauCZCp6vK7JGPPw/s320/IMG_0221.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
can have certainty in our eternal destination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before
Micah died, I never gave much consideration to whether young children are
saved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when Micah died, it was no
longer an abstract question. I jumped into the deep end of the theology pool to
ascertain what the Bible says about the eternal destination of those who, like
Micah, died before reaching an age of individual responsibility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having spent a considerable amount of time
researching the question, I came away not only certain of my own son’s eternal
destiny, but also continue to benefit from the certainty of my own
salvation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both Micah and I are saved
for all eternity by the blood of Jesus Christ, and nothing I do, or Micah didn’t
do, can take away from that salvation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">For it is by grace you have been saved
through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not as a
result of works, so that no one can boast.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ephesians 2:8,9.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Some of us
try to “justify” ourselves by our balance sheets, our achievements, or the
number of “good works” that we complete in our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God saved Micah for the pure pleasure of
demonstrating his superseding power and goodness, juxtaposed against the
self-righteousness of those who think they can personally achieve moral standing
before Him by good works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul says, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“….God
chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring
to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence
of God.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1 Corinthians 1:26-31.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The assurance of Micah’s salvation is a great
promise for each of us that our own eternal destination is independent of our
moral acts, and for that all of us have reason to be thankful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Suffering
redefines “our good” from God’s perspective, not ours. </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Be
very careful about quoting Romans 8:28 flippantly to anyone enduring great
suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In that verse, Paul tells us,
“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And we know that all things work
together for good, who have been called according to his purpose.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When your son dies, your dreams die along
with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we flippantly encourage
parents with promises based upon an improvement in their circumstances, such
as, “don’t worry, you’ll have more children,” or “the pain will get easier,” or
“just think positive,” we miss the point of the passage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God didn’t allow the death of our son to
improve our circumstances, but to achieve God’s purposes for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the words of a friend, Romans 8:28 is not for
“our best life now” (yes, think Joel Osteen) but “our best life later, much
later, as in all of eternity.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What we
believe to be good is not necessarily God’s best for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This discovery of God’s best may be painful,
and may seem to lead in all sorts of painful, circuitous paths, but we can
trust that it is ultimately for our good.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">God
uses suffering to give us an eternal perspective.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“<i>If then you have
been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above,
not things that are on earth</i>.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Colossians
3:1-4.</i> Regardless of what interests and background we have, we tend to
surround ourselves with people who think the same way we do, value the same
things we do, and reinforce for us, in our own minds, that same value
system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Workplace accolades, financial
rewards, and other life circumstances are what I call the “idols of the immediate.” I
often wonder how much of what we consider “important” in our minds or our own
social circles are just these idols of the immediate—that is, empty promises of
satisfaction that, if followed wholeheartedly throughout a lifetime, will only
lead to disillusionment and then ultimately destruction. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A continuing, ongoing blessing from Micah’s death
is that it is such much easier to pick up on those idols of the immediate and
reject them for what they are, and then refocus our lives and energies where they
ought to be--on the eternal. I’m certain that, in the absence of Micah’s
death, Heather and I would be more closely tied, in heart, thought and action,
in achieving what we want on this life, the idols of the immediate, the “things
on this earth.” For us, Micah’s death meant that we could more easily focus on
matters of eternal significance.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">God
gives us daily sustaining grace to meet each day’s trials. </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In
those first few weeks following Micah’s death, we could not fathom thinking to
the future. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every hour seemed to be a
chore;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it was too much to bear to think
of the future that lay ahead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we were
to pull forward the sufferings that we know we were to endure in the future, we
could not possibly hope to endure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
God gives us sufficient grace today to meet today’s promise, promises to meet
tomorrow’s problems with the future grace he will provide.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope; The steadfast
love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new
every morning; great is your faithfulness.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lamentations 3:21</i>. We cannot
now see the thousands of interim blessings that God will provide each day,
every day, until we see Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who can
predict what little encouragements--the emails, phone calls, times together with
family and friends -- will arise in the meantime, as an answer to prayer, to
provide us with the grace that we need to endure?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Praise
God when you are in the sanctuary, because it pays off when you are in the
dark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I<span style="background: white; color: #333333;">n Psalm 63, David writes, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So
I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
Because you steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.” <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"></span>Psalm 63:1-3</i></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">. </span>What
kept David’s faith alive through difficult days was a reflection upon all that
God had done for him in the past and to trust that God would similarly use the
present sufferings for his ultimate good. David’s reflections upon certain past
blessings (his time spent “in the sanctuary”) keep him going through difficult
days. For us, it can be the memory of past experiences, when we are walking
along the mountaintops of life, in the sunshine with God, that could maintain
our faith in a good and sovereign God even through the dark valleys of life. God
gave us great days with Micah, as he does now with our living children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we were to continually remind ourselves of
these past experiences of God in our life, resulting in blessings to us both
large and small, then we should be able to keep praises of God “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">continually on our mouths.” (Psalm 34:1).</i>
Then, when nothing seems to be going right in life, we can bring these
blessings to mind, and use them as footholds of faith when we otherwise can’t
see the benefits of suffering. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">God’s
plans for us are beyond tracing out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
were not able to become parents as quickly as we hoped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, when Micah died, we wondered in light
of our previous infertility issues if we would ever have children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given what we knew, we had no reason to
believe that we would be parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Quite
unexpectedly, our second son Owen was born within a year of Micah’s death. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Micah’s death, coupled with the other
circumstances surrounding Owen’s birth, made it clear to us that God’s hand was
clearly in all these circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which
makes us wonder, what unexpected results will come from our current
sufferings?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What will God accomplish
through our parenting blunders, our breast cancer, our health setbacks, and other
difficulties?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh the depth of the riches and of the wisdom and knowledge of God!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How unsearchable are his judgements, and his
paths beyond tracing out!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Romans 11:33.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></i></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">God
uses the humble encouragement of fellow believers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the past few years, Heather
and I have been so encouraged by the humility and sacrifice of many friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These friends have demonstrated the type of
love that Paul refers to when he says, “…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do
nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others more significant
than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some acquaintances like to tell us what we should do; others don’t want
to make the commitment to take the time to listen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the striking characteristics in our friends
is the humility involved in ministering to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is a difficult, exhausting, and time-consuming task to sit across the
table from someone who needs to be heard. Humility is telling a friend “I don’t
know how I can help you, but I’m here to be quiet, sit with you, listen, and
then pray together.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a blessing to
have friends who have the humility to encourage us at great personal cost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As
Christians, we can live simultaneously in both joy and sorrow. </span></i></b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Paul's
words, we are ".<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">..as sorrowful, yet
always rejoicing." 2 Corinthians 6:10. </i>While the waves of grief are
shallower, and less frequent, then they were a few years ago, we continue to
grieve. We face the realities of death "head on," not ignoring grief,
or pretending that grief does not significantly impact us in so many ways. From
the outside, our lives are filled with many good things, and have the opportunity
to take joy in our children. But the absence of our oldest son from our family
creates a "hole" in our lives and in our affections. No matter how
otherwise "happy" we think we can be, we recognize that we will never
be truly satisfied on this side of eternity. It will not be until we see Jesus
that these "holes" will be filled. For this reason, Paul can say that
any Christian, regardless of his or her circumstances, can be rejoicing, since
one's ultimate source of happiness and joy comes from our relationship with Jesus.
For us, and I know for many other grieving parents, the ongoing blessing of a
"missing" child is the continual reminder that this world is not our
true home, and that we long for that day when we will be welcomed home. Until
that day, we look ahead in both sorrow and joy.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Only God provides a sure foundation for our
future.</span></i></b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Just a
few days before Micah died, Micah was a happy and perfectly healthy little
boy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had no reason to believe that
Micah would be taken from us so suddenly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our son’s death showed us that we are impotent to control our future,
and the future of our children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
Psalm 73, the Psalmist is initially frustrated by the apparent physical and
financial prowess of the godless people around him in light of his own
suffering. And then, after entering into worship and prayer with God, he was
able to re-center his affections in God. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Whom
have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides
you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my
portion forever." Psalm 73:25-26.</i> When suffering through the death of
a child, facing financial or career difficulties, or enduring health
challenges, we remember that we are “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a
mist that appears for a time and then vanishes.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>James 4:13-15. </i>Our sufferings educate us
as to the temporal duration of any source of stability and significance outside
of Christ, and point us to the only true source of eternal stability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
should “seize the day” and enjoy our family for God’s glory.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
As <span style="background: white; color: #333333;">each of our three living
children passed the 9 month mark, which corresponded with the length of Micah’s
earthly lifetime, we took special note of each of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each of them looked so much the same as Micah
at that age: the wide grin, the blue eyes, the near-white blonde hair. They
were (at the time!) gentle in spirit, pleased to just giggle and take all of
life in. Our earthly lifetimes are certainly too short of a timeframe to begin
to understand all of the possible ramifications of each of our lives, including
Micah’s. But I am increasingly certain of one implication, to me personally, of
Micah’s death. I am so grateful, and so appreciative to God, for every waking
moment with living kids. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">When I look at
your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have
set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that
you care for him?” Psalm 8:3-4. </i>Who are we to receive these blessings from
God? Everything is grace. Nothing is deserved. Everything is extra. Nothing is
owed to me. Will you give your living kids an extra hug, knowing what an extra
privilege you have to parent living children?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Carpe Diem, I say, but to the Glory of God.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-78892832205970132572018-07-27T15:57:00.004-05:002018-07-27T15:57:23.637-05:00Redemptive Memory<br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">July
27<sup>th</sup> is not a welcome day in our house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So much about this time of year-- whether the
length of the long summer days, the sunshine, the humidity, and even the
relative calm of a mid-summer schedule, bring back memories we wish we could
escape. It was on this date in 2009 that our son Micah, a happy little 9-month
old boy, died as a result of a confluence of events. Many people in grief, or
who have endured great suffering, are said to “live in the past.” Because
current circumstances create such pain in their lives, some people who have
endured great hardship try to avoid current circumstances and hold on to
everything about the past that provided them joy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In that vein, we might look back at a particular
event and consider its worth, to us, based only upon the joy or usefulness it
brought to us in that particular moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For the nine years that have past since that awful July day in 2009, we
have come to painfully associate the attributes of a midsummer day in Minnesota
with the memories of our son’s death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But God does not view
history the way we do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is working
out our redemption through our framework of time. In his book, <i>A
Grace Revealed</i>, theologian Jerry Sittser describes the importance of using
“redemptive memory” so that we can be encouraged by how God is using our
history to shape us. </span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Sittser writes, “We
see the scope of the biblical story unfold before us, situated, as we are, some
two thousand years after it ended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
the characters we read about did not have the vantage point we have not because
they were inside the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They chose
to trust God and follow him into an unknown future, however slim the evidence
of a bigger story that could make sense out of their little ones.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I want to offer three observations about how I
have struggled with having a “redemptive memory” related to my own grief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Embrace
Our Temporality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">First,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>while God is above and outside time, God
fully expects us, as temporal beings, to only be able to comprehend life
sequentially.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joe Rigney writes that our
temporality is not sinful; that it is at the essence of who were created to be,
and who we will be for all eternity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
author of Hebrews writes, “These [the patriarchs] all died in faith, not having
received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar,
and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hebrews
11:13.</i> To believe we can possibly understand all of the purposes that God
has achieved in our suffering is to misunderstand our temporality. But God is
calling us, nonetheless, to trust that He is using time as a key ingredient in
the recipe he created for our sanctification and His own glorification.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Patiently
Bear the Sufferings of Others.</span></i><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, we must patiently bear patiently
with others as God works in their lives, in His time, just as He works in us,
in His time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Apostles rejoiced in
having suffered for His name, and that they bore each others’ burdens and
shared everything in common. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Acts 5:41. </i>We
as members of Christ’s body are called to suffer with one another, and to
encourage one another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s
multivariable calculus is such that, with regard to any one particular source
of grief or suffering, He might be using the suffering in one matter for one
purpose, for a second person for a second purpose, and to a third person, at an
altogether different point in time, for a third purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Heather and I have been so blessed by those in
the Body of Christ who, having endured a similar type of suffering at a time
well before our own suffering, are able to speak words of truth and
encouragement to us at the point in time when it was most needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As members of the Body of Christ, we are
called to share our sufferings with others, as well as our encouragement,
knowing that God can work both suffering and encouragement together for our
common good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">2
Corinthians 1:6.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Live
in the Joy & Suffering Paradox.</span></i><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Third, we are called to live in a joy and
suffering paradox.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are admonished to respond
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in
joy</i></b> to what God is doing in our lives in light of all eternity. James
writes, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various
kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness …”
James 1:2-4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But even while living in
joy in our eternal future, we can take great solace in how Jesus showed us how
to embrace the grief of temporal suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In John 11, we read that Jesus was so moved by the death of his friend
Lazarus that, even with the knowledge of how He would shortly raise Lazarus to
life, Jesus embraced the grief with his own tears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While God is above and outside of time, he is
somehow also in it, and can commiserate with us now, in our own grief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can therefore live in an ongoing and
continually paradox of emotions—with both great grief in earthly loss, and yet
great joy in the hope of the coming redemption of all things, including our
greatest of sufferings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Paul says in
2 Corinthians 6:10, we are “…as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The great news of the gospel is, among many other things,
that we are part of the larger redemptive story and that no one event, however,
tragic, can and should define us. The cross, in itself, is the most
egregious event every perpetrated on another human. But the
testimonies of millions of believers across the span of two thousand years,
including our very own, demonstrate that the legacy of the Cross is not just
the unjust sentence, torture, and death endured by God. It is the
redemption of those who are called by God. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
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<span style="background: white;">In our case, the idea of “redemptive memory”
does not mean that we should try to forget the great grief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We think of how Micah died and how if in any
one of a number of things would have gone differently, he would still be with
us today. But at the same time, it is far too early for me to write
a definitive account of Micah’s life and legacy. The way in which
Micah died cannot be viewed as a self-contained event having meaning within
itself. It must be viewed along with the various and numerous
grace-filled blessings that have arisen in our lives by reason of it. Just as
the Cross of Christ cannot be viewed outside of its redemptive impact on human
history, so also we should view our sufferings in light of what God has done,
and continues to do, by reason of our son’s death.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-85069456919031377222018-06-09T14:37:00.002-05:002018-06-09T14:37:25.507-05:002018 Hope for the Mourning Running TeamAgain this year, we are looking for runners to participate in our Hope for the Mourning Running Team. We ask each runner to commit to raising at least $250 in total contributions. Each runner would solicit his or her own personal contacts in an effort to raise as much as possible for the Hope for the Mourning ministry.<br />
<br />
<b>YOUR RACE OPTIONS: </b>
All races are part of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon family of races on October 6-7. 2018. You have the opportunity to run in one of four different races:<br />
<br />
-Participate in the 5K on Saturday, October 6th<br />
OR<br />
-Participate in the 10K on Saturday, October 6th<br />
OR<br />
-Participate in the 10 Mile on Sunday, October 7th. (Members of the 10 Mile team will need to win a lottery in order to participate; if a runner is not selected as part of the lottery, he or she will run in the 10 K.)<br />
OR<br />
-Participate as a runner in the TC Marathon on Sunday, October, 7th.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>YOUR WEEKEND BENEFITS:</b>
As in previous years, all members of the Hope for the Mourning running team will receive:<br />
<br />
Registration for the desired race;<br />
The Medtronic Marathon “finisher’s” t-shirt provided by the race;<br />
A Hope for the Mourning long-sleeve race to wear proudly on race day;<br />
An invitation to you and your family to join us for the pasta dinner on Friday night, October 5th.<br />
<br />
<b>NEW FOR 2018!!!</b>
Since we seek to provide support to the entire family, we have decided to encourage more youth to be involved in our fundraising event. Any youth (up to age 16) can register to participate as a “HFTM Runner”, just like the adults. The youth HFTM runner can register for any of the events listed above or the 1 mile run on Saturday, October 6th. The weekend benefits are the same as the adults. We ask each youth runner to commit to raising at least $50 in total contributions. Each youth runner would solicit his or her family and friends in an effort to raise as much as possible for the Hope for the Mourning ministry.<br />
<br />
<b>THE CAUSE</b>
Through your efforts, the contributions raised in support of the ministry have allowed us to reach the families grieving the passing of these children:
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisJeATuCVasiwtYNLjX3Yl13LA-6RPCVGXux8tdZNvjzpIEm1HuI9yP0CD3y7XMhyDnGFa1XHpZ0CJFFZK2Lb16MYgLGAQEXMCu78WaXJrGi8BErgjTTkRG_fq0YM_BG1IUZDSlhETMYc/s1600/Wurz.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="198" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisJeATuCVasiwtYNLjX3Yl13LA-6RPCVGXux8tdZNvjzpIEm1HuI9yP0CD3y7XMhyDnGFa1XHpZ0CJFFZK2Lb16MYgLGAQEXMCu78WaXJrGi8BErgjTTkRG_fq0YM_BG1IUZDSlhETMYc/s320/Wurz.png" width="240" /></a></div>
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Jonathan Wurz</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AB8N9YxXBleBPwThnQS6wzVmEXOYb6TfX5nlDDXmzUcWhWjR1rDSWT9ZbsI5HaQW14rMrsZl5rkafAN9CkKTQUvFj1VYDUs2ikhvVBZtBezFyXnB2UwHUyhtYOf9oOJeEkcIjv-XBfc/s1600/Katryn+Fronek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AB8N9YxXBleBPwThnQS6wzVmEXOYb6TfX5nlDDXmzUcWhWjR1rDSWT9ZbsI5HaQW14rMrsZl5rkafAN9CkKTQUvFj1VYDUs2ikhvVBZtBezFyXnB2UwHUyhtYOf9oOJeEkcIjv-XBfc/s320/Katryn+Fronek.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Kate Fronek</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvELW74NL7nmgxEdSnk1Ohyphenhyphen0yzjTpT9PLgvN5Pp2rRbrltr5z6VBiXo5z1GonmxsanBalMZ82CAn8LstZwnO6723cw1C8EUI9H3DPi8JIu0l3dgQLB7_KhmDaBypzihyphenhypheneaNd-qzt-iXNw/s1600/Daniel+Peso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvELW74NL7nmgxEdSnk1Ohyphenhyphen0yzjTpT9PLgvN5Pp2rRbrltr5z6VBiXo5z1GonmxsanBalMZ82CAn8LstZwnO6723cw1C8EUI9H3DPi8JIu0l3dgQLB7_KhmDaBypzihyphenhypheneaNd-qzt-iXNw/s320/Daniel+Peso.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Daniel Peso<br />
<br />
The Wurz, Peso and Fronek families, along with more than 180 other families, each received a care package in the past year. Each care package includes an invitation to respond to us. While not every family is in the same position to respond to us, we are honored to be of assistance to many families who chose to respond. Locally, we’ve been able to meet with several of the families who have lost children in the past year and who have received care packages. Through your generous efforts, we are able to minister to these families.<br />
<br />
We invite you again to make a difference in the lives of hurting families by letting them know through this ministry that there is Hope For The Mourning.
<b>Please respond to Craig Wessman by JUNE 29TH of your own interest in being part of the 2018 Team. </b>
Additionally, if you have a family member, friend, colleague that might also be interested in joining the 2018 team please forward this page on to them and have them respond back to Craig Wessman at this address: candkwessman@gmail.com . For more information about Hope for the Mourning, go to: www.hopeforthemourning.com
Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-77113204320727169112017-04-16T07:17:00.000-05:002017-04-16T07:17:03.282-05:00The Deeper the Cost, The Greater the PrizeWe, like many grieving parents, wondered what sin we committed in the past that prompted God’s removal of our son Micah from our lives. Other parents come with a sense of self-righteousness, believing that because they had previously been faithful to God, God had no “right” to take a child from them. Both lines of thinking are really a self-centered, self-created form of righteousness, a type of righteousness that God clearly does not ascribe to. Throughout the Old Testament, God uses the law to show how distinctly different (“Holy”) He is. Our human inclination, to every fiber of our being, is bent upon making ourselves dependent on ourselves, to make what few things we can do relatively well as the epicenter of a self-created system of righteousness. The death of Christ is the demonstration that our greatest works are completely insufficient to bring us into relationship with God. Pastor Tim Keller says, “We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”
The good news of the Gospel is that our earthly circumstances are not the result of a transaction with God based upon our performance, about us fulfilling some set of rules. Rather, our relationship with God has been set permanently by the blood of Christ on the Cross. The Apostle Paul says, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14. God will glorify Himself through us, and the lives of our children, living and deceased, and in Him now we can take the utmost joy. The more we understand the cost that Jesus paid for us, the more appreciation we have for the prize we have in our salvation in Christ. We pray that on this Easter, you would take great joy in God.
Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-87104157318591921932016-10-30T16:05:00.000-05:002016-10-30T16:07:09.483-05:00Holding on to the Promises. Today is Micah’s 8th birthday. Like many grieving parents, we could try to live in the past in order to find “joy” in the memory of those brief, fleeting “happy” moments. But what hope does that bring for the future? <b>A present hope in God, continually renewed by the Holy Spirit speaking to us through the promises of scripture, must be the sole source of our significance and hope for the future. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOi78OoOVfZQ16B7EqEr0SG9ZkfMGLHCdkxDqm5yuEEEZHz0CKy-WSpPkSkAiFT0nDxGppLONOytwCAZMU6PGUFqgmygUX3OhaCZ_Zvxt9kNKOGwZjQx_6_OujDDSl5Qy5LmVjHVGqyc/s1600/Micah+Bday+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOi78OoOVfZQ16B7EqEr0SG9ZkfMGLHCdkxDqm5yuEEEZHz0CKy-WSpPkSkAiFT0nDxGppLONOytwCAZMU6PGUFqgmygUX3OhaCZ_Zvxt9kNKOGwZjQx_6_OujDDSl5Qy5LmVjHVGqyc/s320/Micah+Bday+2016.jpg" width="240" height="320" /></a></div> </b> We grieve how short Micah’s time with us was. But ultimately it is not Micah’s tragedy that we grieve, it is sin itself. For even with our life-long spouses and friends, we will ultimately be separated by death. In contrast, we are promised in scripture that, if we are trusting in God now, that we will be with Him forever (Psalm 73). Our hope in each other and ourselves will disappoint, if it has not already. In contrast, Jesus promises a joy in himself that will never end. (John 4). Jesus shared with the outcast Samaritan woman at the well the same startling truth that He knows we need--that nothing on this earth can fill us with the joy in Him. <b>The great promise of our faith is that joy in God is exceedingly greater than anything else offered by this brief physical life. </b>On Micah’s 8th birthday, we hold on to this promise. Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-7842577952610881282016-08-28T05:40:00.000-05:002016-08-28T05:40:03.070-05:00High Expectations of GodIn my law practice, I try to "under-promise" and "over-deliver." That is to say, I try to manage the expectations of my prospective clients to make sure he or she understands precisely what I can do, and what I cannot do. Ultimately, I want to make sure I complete those tasks we agree upon, but avoid any misunderstandings beyond those tasks.
In contrast, God tells us that our expectations of Him can never be high enough. We are told in Ephesians 3 that God is "able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us..." Ephesians 3:20. Rather than attempting to minimize the significance of our earthly and temporary trials, God promises that the end result is greater than we dare imagine. None of us can escape the impact of sin; whether the premature death of a child, job or marriage loss, or poor health, all of us feel the profound grief of an unacceptable earthly existence.
We were created to look for, and experience, true and lasting pleasure and significance. Rather than ending a search for lasting pleasure and significance, God tells us to switch our pursuit from whatever occupies our thoughts, now, to a pursuit of Him. Whatever we are currently enduring, He promises that He will make it worthwhile. "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you...My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips..." Psalm 63:3,5. Rather than lower our expectations in life, let's look to God to give us hope, and look to see how He will meet those high expectations. Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-25725440784441614192016-07-26T21:10:00.002-05:002016-07-26T21:10:50.219-05:00On the 7th Anniversary of Micah's Homegoing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvkMskVlNrBCkZ5KU_6U9MQEZMVlKWWfNHd7WuAxLPbbo23WfyB_NS-ZIUFezvASuhWSQSW9F5S8IyVcGiNhdbjFfQATnlrMk3addaarJuChDdhMeXZ0jTZekyiVMcI-ZhQcNYLrUs58/s1600/Gravestone.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvkMskVlNrBCkZ5KU_6U9MQEZMVlKWWfNHd7WuAxLPbbo23WfyB_NS-ZIUFezvASuhWSQSW9F5S8IyVcGiNhdbjFfQATnlrMk3addaarJuChDdhMeXZ0jTZekyiVMcI-ZhQcNYLrUs58/s320/Gravestone.JPG" width="240" height="320" /></a></div>
Could we show that Micah belonged to us, and not to God?
Could we show that Micah's death was a surprise to God, and not within his plan?
Could we show that Micah's death was God's punishment, and not as an act of love?
If just one of these three legs of the three-legged stool were kicked out, then our faith would topple over like a misshapen top. We would be justified in living a life of self-absorption, of fear, of anger, or a combination of all three.
And yet God has shown us through life and scripture that He, in fact, upholds all three legs of our faith.
God says, "Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine." Job 41.11.
"[God] can do all things, and no purpose of His can be thwarted." Job 42:2.
On this, the 7th anniversary of Micah's death, we submit in reverence to the love, power, and plan of God. Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-61108395352545227242016-06-07T21:28:00.001-05:002016-06-07T21:28:11.435-05:00My Email to a Sick FriendLike Job’s friends, I think many of us have a tendency to want to give the “easy” or “Sunday school” answer to you in these difficult days. We want to simply assure you that God is in control and therefore all of this “will work together for our good.” (Take Romans 8:28 out of context). But such “pat” answers eliminate the reality of your pain—your physical pain and the relational pain it causes between you, family members and even God.
We ask questions like, “What possible good could come from this?” Lord, whatever lesson you are trying to teach me, did you have to impose such a burden on me. There HAS to be a more efficient way of glorifying yourself through me and my life, considering the havoc that this is wrecking on our finances, my career, our marriage, and our family. Lord, if you are in control, why can’t you stop it?
I pray that the Lord would put an end to your sufferings immediately. But if it does not, I pray that you would bear patiently under the stresses of this health, even as you wait for your “redemption” from both the physical healing you need your lack of understanding in God’s purpose in all of this. In 2 Corinthians 4:8, Paul says he is “afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair.” I pray that you and your family would moment-by-moment bring your petitions, physical ailments, and needs before him so that, while you can quite rightly be perplexed by God’s purposes, you would not give up (“be driven to despair.”)
King David could sleep soundly in the knowledge that the Lord would preserve him from the thousands who followed Absalom and wanted his very life. Likewise, I pray that you would trust in God to heal you. “Arise, Or Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.” Psalm 3. May God break the teeth of your ailments.
I pray that in your struggle with God over meaning and purpose, that you would come out of this current phase with an increased reliance on Him, knowing that while His ways are above and beyond our understanding, that He can accomplish great and lasting changes through us and our mortal bodies.
Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-12711839036672083062016-05-08T21:16:00.002-05:002016-05-08T21:16:53.407-05:00Living for His Immediate ReturnIn the months after Micah died, Heather and I felt ready for Jesus’ immediate return. We wanted nothing more to be Home, in Heaven, with Jesus and Micah. But as the years pass, so have the concerns of life cluttered this perspective. Jobs, career, financial and family concerns have competed in our affections for what had previously been an unopposed desire to be in Jesus’ immediate presence.
In concluding the book of Revelation, Jesus tells us to be ready at any moment for his return. “And behold, I am coming soon.” Revelations 22:7. Seeing as this was written some 2,000 years ago, I used to feel (as no doubt a skeptic would) as though God has owed millions of His followers an apology. How can He be trusted if we told he is coming back "soon," and now we must wait so long? How can this return be "immediate?"
In fact, I have come to believe so strongly that it is no mistake to live one’s life as if Jesus’ return is not just within our lifetime, but within the very week, the very day, the very hour.
As humans, we must have affections that stir us to action. We cannot stay in neutral when it comes to living in affection. Nor can we put certain affections “on hold,” and then return to those affections at some later date. Our immediate affections will, in the absence of some extraneous force, become our long-term affections. We cannot tell ourselves that we will follow Jesus only after we complete our degree, or settle down into a career, or have children. God knows that one’s future character is intricately linked to our current one, and that our current character will dictate what type of person we will become. If emulating Christ is indeed what is best for us, and ultimately is what is most satisfying, then God’s encouragement to live as if He is returning tomorrow is indeed most loving.
In the perspective of God’s history, not our current earthly timeline, a 1,000 years is like a day. In the perspective of all eternity, our lifetimes will be the duration of a vapor; indeed, the 2,000 years will be a small fraction of all human history. If God truly loves us, why would he not encourage us to avoid the frivolities of current American life, and focus on that which will be of value in eternity? I pray that Heather and I can return to this same perspective, looking in eager anticipation for turning the page on the end of this short, brief temporal existence into an eternity filled with the worship of our Lord Jesus. Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-27146533781124675282016-04-24T06:07:00.002-05:002016-04-24T06:07:43.535-05:00Persistent PrayerWhile it may be difficult to hear, those in the midst of great grief have one significant advantage over those of us who are in the midst of relative peace and security in life circumstances. Those enduring great grief have the "advantage" of holding a right understanding of our lack of self-sufficiency, and our constant need for Christ.
In Luke 18, Jesus describes a widow who bombards an unrighteous judge with her petitions for justice. Eventually, the unrighteous judge gives in to her requests, not because the judge is righteous, but because the widow is persistent. If this widow was successful, how much more successful are we when the recipient of our persistent requests is a loving and righteous God?
Most of us don't pray like the persistent widow because we really don't believe we need prayer that much. Our culture, and any own personal experiences of personal success, teach us that we can "pull ourselves up by our bootstraps" and achieve what we set out to do. Indeed, some of us fill up our lives with tasks, and create status in our minds about ourselves so that, having formed a sense of self-righteousness about our status, believe we can look at others in self-created righteous indignation over failure to abide by our self-created, self-governed standards. Moreover, these same standards are then applied to God when God fails to abide by our self-created sense of sufficiency.
For those in the midst of great grief, we must continue to pour out or requests to God. In His timing, we trust that He will answer in ways that are eternally beneficial. For those like me in periods of relative comfort, we must continually repent of our attempts at self-sufficiency, and look to move to greater and greater dependence upon God. In that dependence, we can then persist in prayer, knowing that we have a good and loving Father hearing our prayers.Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-37053776857271433362016-02-06T06:11:00.002-06:002016-02-06T06:11:11.006-06:00Sorrowful, Yet Always RejoicingIn 2 Corinthians 6:10, the Apostle Paul gives a list of seemingly contradictory attributes of Christians. He tells us that he is “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing…” Pastor John Piper has said that Christians are, or at least ought to be, simultaneously both the saddest people on earth, as well as the most joy-filled. How can this be?
<b>Joy:<i></i></b> Our lives are filled with joy because of Christ’s work on our behalf. We are the most joyful of people because we have the full knowledge of the plan of salvation in Christ, and revel in our own salvation by grace. Our joy is not in circumstances, but in God. “You have put more joy in my heart then they have when their grain and wine abound.” Psalm 4:7.
<b>Sorrow: <i></i></b>Our lives are simultaneously filled with sorrow because we better understand the full weight of sin in this world. We know that all of the ramifications to sin—whether the breakdown in human relationships, sickness, loneliness, death—is not the way that the Lord intended for us to live. Author Paul Tripp says, “Death is the enemy of everything good and beautiful about life as God planned it. Death should make you morally sad and righteously angry. It is a cruel indicator that the world is broken; it is not functioning according to God’s original design.” Tripp, citing 1 Corinthians 15:25-26.
The rest of the world may try to find the “silver lining” of a tough situation. The world may use modern psychotherapy to help with grief, or turn to work, drugs, or other forms of escape, in order to salve the wounds. But as Christians, we must confront sin and all its ramifications fully in the face and hate sin with all of our being. When we see death, our sorrow is greater than the rest of the world because our hatred of sin is greater than the rest of the world. We can, therefore, take this seemingly contradictory position of great sorrow and grief joy in the midst of suffering.
Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-86431514075030299522016-01-21T05:53:00.000-06:002016-01-21T05:53:46.762-06:00Suffering and the Presence of the Holy SpiritOne year ago today, I was recovering from an abdominal surgery that would, ultimately, cause me to spend 22 of 26 days in the hospital. I won’t soon forget the night of January 19, 2015, the night when I lay awake in my hospital bed staring at the clock, counting down the minutes until my next dose of pain killers could be administered. I would later learn that grapefruit-sized abscesses had developed behind my lungs by reason of the post-surgical bacterial infection that I had developed in the course of an earlier surgery.
As I look back at my response to what God permitted to occur in my life one year ago, I am pleasantly surprised to reflect upon my own reaction to that suffering. This suffering was certainly inferior in degree to the suffering our family endured beginning in 2009 when Micah died. However, that larger suffering, and my dependence on the Holy Spirit by reason of it, has had positive results in my life. Throughout my hospital stay, I was able to maintain a focus on the Lord and His plan for my life, and generally respond with an open hand and mind to where the Lord was leading through that illness. (I blogged about my responses on this blog last winter and spring).
I write about this not to boast in my own strength or moral character, but to boast in God’s character. I want to encourage you (especially if you are a fellow grieving parent), that God’s strength will be sufficient to carry you through current and future trials. Any good that comes from the lives of believers in absolute weakness is by reason of God’s strength in us, not our own. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul emphasizes that his boast is not in his own works, but in the cross. “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the worlds has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Galatians 6:14. In the cross, we see that all of our works can only get in the way of our relationship with Him, because in our absolute weakness, God is able to accomplish far more than we can do on our own.
How can I boast in my own strength, when I could not even eat, and was too weak to even bath myself? Where is boasting when, but for God’s very breath in our lungs, we would have no hope of entering another day without the strength that He provides. How can I brag when I would not have the moral fortitude to respond in a Christ-like manner to those around me? While I (for one) cannot say that I “rejoice in my suffering,” I can say that I take hope in my response to it. We can be glad that spiritual fruit arising out of suffering demonstrates the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. Having seen God work through my own weakness, we can rejoice in the hope of eternity, knowing that God’s presence in our lives has guaranteed our salvation. Paul says, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:13.
Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-29262496252673903032016-01-17T05:34:00.003-06:002016-01-17T05:34:52.744-06:00DisciplineParents of young children (like me) know that a child will not always respond to discipline. It may be necessary to elevate the level of discipline to cause the child to understand (“wake up to”) the moral reality of his or her actions.
Is it unloving for us to discipline our child in order to point them in the direction of wisdom, goodness and truth? Is it not the most loving action we can take to correct their actions or attitudes in order to set them on a course for creating a moral character that makes good and right moral decisions independent of us?
In chapters 8 and 9 of the Book of Revelation, we read about certain “end times” events that do not sit well with the modern reader. We see the Lord allowing for vast and incomparable devastation to come upon the earth, removing one-third of the crops, livestock, and human beings from the face of the earth. God permits this devastation to occur in order that those humans who have not yet turned to Jesus might repent of their idolatry (Revelation 9:20-21), and make Jesus the center of their affections. Is it unloving for God to allow this devastation? If God Himself is most worthy of our affections, is it not supremely loving of God to take any means necessary to turn our affections away from ourselves and “wake up to” the only one and true object worthy of eternal worship, God Himself?
There is no question that trusting in the future redemption of our significant sufferings or current calamities requires fearless faith. But if you have endured such setbacks, will you at least consider the possibility that, just like we ought to discipline our children to become lovers of good, God has (and will) discipline us in order to become lovers of God?
The death of a child, like other significant means of suffering in this life, can serve as a “wake up call” from a loving God. When we lose something so close to the center of our affections, we should respond like little children, and ask how our Heavenly father wants to use this discipline for our good. We would be wasting the attention and intentions of a loving and sovereign God if we let our sufferings go to waste.
Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-77788790501795675762016-01-01T13:41:00.000-06:002016-01-01T13:41:10.047-06:00Life-Changing Grief & The HolidaysIn his book, "After Lament," Glenn Pemberton encourages readers facing significant suffering or grief to enter into lament--to go deeper in a struggle with God. In marked contrast to the flavor of many Christian churches today, Pembertson points to the example of David and other Psalmists us to lament--to ask of God His purposes, to wrestle with God, and to generally cry out to Him in lament.
Pemberton writes, "It is my observation that many people assume [that] [o]nce God has heard our lament and answered our prayer, the crisis is over and we may resume our lives from the point at which the crisis hit....As soon as the crisis is past we try to get on with the business of living our lives as if nothing happened." Pembertson, After Lament, p. 25.
My observation is that friends and family members of grieving parents try to "fix" the grieving parents by trying to get them "back" to the normal way of life, especially at the Holidays. The first Christmas after Micah died, Heather and I made the decision we would not try to be "normal" around the Holidays. Rather than enjoying a traditional family Christmas, we took off for 7 days in Mexico. In hindsight, this was an excellent decision. In every Christmas season since his death, we have taken on a few "traditions "back," but it would be unrealistic to think that our holidays, like the rest of life, can ever be "normal" again. Nothing in life is normal after the death of a child, especially those rhythms of life associated with family and children.
If you know a grieving parent, I would encourage you to not try to "fix" their problems by getting them "back" to their normal ways. God is using the most terrible circumstances imaginable to change the lives of the parents, and most likely numerous others, for His glory. Please don't think that a grieving parent needs his or her "old" way of life back in order to be happy again.Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-7743195236602668852015-11-29T06:15:00.005-06:002015-11-29T06:15:44.095-06:00How we are saved?In my capacity as an estate planning attorney, I have the honor of providing some guidance as to how remaining assets are distributed to and among family members, friends or charities following death. Recently, I worked with a client who expressed a desire to provide a certain amount of assets to the church for the purpose of saying "masses" on behalf of herself and deceased family members. This client wants to name numerous churches as the recipients of certain sums, with the hope that each of them would say a sufficient number of masses that would "save" her from enduring purgatory. Her questions prompted me to give some thought to how we are saved, and what assurance we can have for Heaven, following death. Below is an excerpt from a recent response to this client:
...Our recent conversations regarding purgatory and your hope of heaven prompted me to review the Holy Bible, and its teachings regarding how we are “saved” from purgatory and to an eternal existence with God. Since both of us share a belief in the Holy Bible as the infallible and authoritative Word of God, I pray that it may be helpful to pass along some encouragement to you from the Bible about the hope we can have for eternal life.
In particular, I wanted to pass along the words from Hebrews 7:26-28. There, the author says, “For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a son who has been made perfect forever.”
In this passage, the author of Hebrews is contrasting the sufficiency of Jesus Christ as our high priest with the “imperfect” nature of anyone but Jesus. In the Old Testament times, priests were appointed within the nation of Israel to serve as mediators between Israel and God. However, because each and every one of these priests was imperfect, so also this entire system suffered by reason of the fact that the mediators were imperfect. In some sense, the ability to be “heard” by God was dependent upon the ability (or more likely, fallibility) of the priest himself.
In contrast to these Old Testament priests, as well as the imperfect ability of any of our fellow saints of the faith, now in heaven, consider the absolute perfection of our new mediator, Jesus Christ. The author of Hebrews notes that, because of how perfect Christ is as our new mediator, we need no one else, even if the mediator in question has been canonized as a saint, to have the assurance of being “heard” by God. If you believe in Jesus Christ as God, if you believe that he took the penalty of death on your behalf, then His sacrifice on your behalf is already perfected. There is no need to have the church offer additional masses on your behalf.
Your desire to make gifts to the church following your death is itself a laudable desire. However, neither these gifts nor your lifetime of good deeds will be sufficient to avoid purgatory. The Bible clearly teaches that no amount of good deeds cause us to gain God’s approval. (See also Ephesians 2:8-9). If these actions and deeds were sufficient, there would have been no need for Jesus Christ to be condemned as a sinner and die a terrible and agonizing death on the cross. It is Jesus Christ who will save you from punishment following death, not your good deeds or the prayers of any saints.
If you believe in Jesus Christ as your savior, you have a Great High Priest. If you have such a Great High Priest, then both now and in the very waning moments of your earthly existence, you can be free of any anxiety of whether you are accepted. Because Jesus now stands as your Great High Priest and ready to receive you as His child, you can have complete assurance of where you stand before Him.
Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-77514086777018064332015-11-03T15:21:00.001-06:002015-11-03T15:21:24.700-06:00Overcoming AnxietyThere is no end to the list of things for which we, as parents, can worry about on behalf of our children. Especially for those of us who have lost children, we seem to find every reasonable opportunity, and many unreasonable ones, to worry about our children. Whether in parenting, work, or even ministry, we can lose sight of the “big picture.” We can lose sight of our relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ, in the midst of life’s busyness.
I have recently been impacted by the reconciling of two passages found adjacent to one another in Luke 10. First, Jesus give us the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus shows the person whom the audience would least consider to be a “righteous” person, the Samaritan, to be the one carrying out God’s law, and not one of the two types of people that the audience would expect (either the Levite or the priest). Specifically, the Samaritan was “good” because he was carrying out God’s law by taking action on behalf of a distressed neighbor.
Second, in the very next passage in Luke 10, we are provided a glimpse of an interaction between Jesus, Martha and Mary. Martha welcomed Jesus, his disciples and perhaps numerous others into her home. While Martha was busy providing for Jesus and all the other visitors, Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, enjoying fellowship with Him. In light of Jesus’ teaching on the Good Samaritan, one can easily resonate with Martha’s concerns expressed here. Like Martha, we ask Jesus, “Jesus, I am loving my neighbors and taking action by serving you and our guests. Jesus, can’t you tell her my lazy sister Mary to “take action?”
In this teaching moment, Jesus unravels Martha’s motives, as well as our own. Jesus tells Martha, “you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.” In her social and historical context, she certainly would have been expected to wait upon these guests. Mary demonstrated a love for Jesus and His presence by shunning these social pressures and seeking that one thing that is necessary—to love Jesus and commune with God.
Without the centrality of Jesus Christ in our lives, our “to do” lists become so overwhelming that we lose sight of the very purpose for which we are undertaking our “lists.” The point of the story with Mary and Martha is that we are called to love God first, and then only after centering our affections in Christ leverage that affection for God into action by loving our neighbor. Like Mary, we ought to be mindful of everything that we put in our own lives to “busy” ourselves, so that we do not lost sight of that central love which should captivate our hearts—a love for Jesus.
Otherwise, we will suffer from numerous and various forms of unnecessary anxiety. To name three:
(1) We think we have to take certain actions, on our own, or else these tasks will not get done. But while God certainly uses us, God says that He does not need us. God is able to accomplish more than we can ask or think. Ephesians 3:20. While we think our own actions are indispensable, God’s ways are above ours.
(2) We are inpatient in waiting on an answer from God, and try to take matters into our own hands. But only when we “let go” will we receive the very things that we seek from God. “We are anxious about what we will wear and eat. And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. …your father knows that you need them. Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” Luke 12:29-31.
(3) We push tomorrow’s problems into today. We wonder how we will pay for future expenses, for college, or deal with a spouse’s illness. Because all “these things” will be added to you whether we are anxious or not, “…do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” Mathew 6:34.
Are we like Martha, constantly striving to do our “duty,” as we think of it? As we do our self-perceived duties, we take on more and more, and often lose sight of relationships in our midst. In particular, we can lose sight of the fact that our loving our neighbors as ourselves only comes from and after our relationship with Jesus. Let us not lose sight of our love for Jesus and, by reason of His great love for us, our need to rest from anxiety and busyness.
Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-55926242985994553652015-10-30T21:36:00.000-05:002015-10-30T21:36:56.828-05:00A Silent 7th BirthdayToday is Micah's 7th birthday. Heather, the kids and I honored his birthday today with a trip together to the cemetery, pizza, and birthday cake.
The very suffering we are experiencing precludes us from answering some important questions. When we experience health issues, or relationship issues, we can draw upon the strength of others, or the support of our community. And we can often quite easily see or experience the practical implications of God's working this suffering for good-whether within our life or the life of the person who is suffering. But with a deceased loved one, we have birthday parties without the most important person in attendance. We cannot ask, or have answered, the questions we are dying to know:
Micah, how are you? Do you know about your brothers and sister?
Micah, do you even celebrate your birthday in Heaven?
Can you eat cake? What did you eat for your birthday? Did you have friends "over?" If so, what are their names?
In general, it has been a relatively quiet day today--not a lot of singing. And yet, as my mom reminded me this morning, we are called to sing (praise) Him, even when we don't feel it. "I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me." Psalm 13:6. On Micah's 1st birthday in 2009, we were just beginning to "unwind" from the shock of his death. Now, six years later, we have begun to see how wide the waves of impact that his life and death have had on us and others. We can't sing about missing Micah, or about his death, but we can sing in the sure hope of seeing him again, and ultimately knowing about all that God accomplished through his short life. Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-27276104064588087112015-09-30T05:14:00.002-05:002015-09-30T05:14:46.288-05:00Hope for the Mourning Event This WeekOn Friday, October 2nd, we will hold our annual “Micah Party” celebration. As in each of the previous 6 years since our son Micah’s death, we have gathered friends and family members to remember Micah and grieve his passing. We typically hold this event on the last Saturday in October to correspond with Micah’s birth (Oct. 30). This year, we moved the date of the event up in the year to correspond with what has become another annual tradition—a spaghetti feed for the “Hope for the Mourning Running Team” and their families. In each of 2012, 2014 and again this year, we have entered a team of runners in the Twin Cities Marathon family of races. Each of the runners is asked to raise funds on behalf of Hope for the Mourning. This year, we have a total of 27 runners who have all committed to raise funds on behalf of Hope for the Mourning. We are so grateful that these runners and their families would take the time and effort to not just train for and run in the races, but also commit to raising funds on behalf of Hope for the Mourning.
Those Served: Over the past few years, the traffic on our website has continued to increase. In our age of social media, website traffic can quickly increase exponentially. In our case, the number of “hits” on our website has surpassed our expectations. We are grateful for the opportunity that the website provides us to share the good news of Jesus Christ to those website visitors. We have reason to believe that most of the visitors to our website are either grieving parents or friends and family members of grieving parents who are seeking guidance as to how to help fellow grieving parents. Once on the website, these visitors find a link called “request care package.” This link allows the visitor to request a care package either for themselves, if they are the grieving parents, or on behalf of the parents they know. This care package includes three books on grief written from a Biblical perspective, two restaurant gift cards, and some additional information, depending upon the location of the recipient. We also provide a response card to allow the grieving parents to follow up with us. We ultimately want to come alongside them, even if only be phone, to grieve with them, pray with them, and try to encourage them wherever they are in their walk with our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Responses: Heather and I, along with our other board members, wish that we could meet with each of these grieving parents individually. Even in the absence of face-to-face interaction, however, we have been encouraged by numerous responses that indicated that the packages are impacting families. Please allow me to quote a few of the responses we have received:
“…We received the Care Package you sent after losing our son, James, at 21 months. We were so touched to receive such a kind gift. The book I found to be most comforting was “Holding on to Hope.” It came to me just when I needed it most—during a very difficult & grief-filled week…We would like to donate $500 in his memory… We are so grateful for the work you are doing in honor of your little boy, Micah.”
“We received the care package…What an incredible gift and such an encouragement for our family. It’s comforting to know that there are others out there who understand our grief. We are so grateful for the books you sent along in the package. Your ministry is so incredible and we are thankful for it.”
“I'm grateful to you for the books and restaurant gift cards. I am reading anything I can get my hands on that may help so I appreciate that. [I had lost faith in God after our daughter passed, but now believe that God may have allowed it for a purpose.] Also as you know, cooking is the last thing on your mind. I haven't cooked an actual meal since before [our daughter] passed.
Our Financial Need: The number of families served continues to grow every year. The numbers of parents served has increased from 72 in 2013, to 116 last year (2014). Already this year, we have sent 135 care packages, which puts us on pace for more than 160 care packages. By reason of the costs of the books, the restaurant gift cards ($75 worth in every care package), and shipping costs, the average care package costs approximately $100. We therefore have an annual budget of approximately $16,000.
Thanks for Financial Contributions: As it relates to our annual fundraiser, we want to thank our runners and their families. We also want to thank five different companies, whom we consider our “Corporate Sponsors” of this event. Through the generous contributions of these five companies, the costs of the annual Marathon fundraiser has been covered in full. As we finalize the collection of our individual running sponsorships, we have been blessed to be able to tell our runners that all contributions received are going directly to Hope for the Mourning. These corporate sponsors are: Strong Tower Wealth Management, Church Mutual Insurance Company, Emergent Networks, Plantscape, and Erickson & Wessman. Should you wish to make a contribution, you can do so either by paying through paypal, on our website, or by personal check. Our mailing address is 5930 Lone Lake Loop, Minnetonka, MN 55343.
We continue to be so grateful for friends and family members like you. We will not know, this side of eternity, how meaningful your support has been to us. None of us will know the extent of the impact that little pea had in clogging the throat of a boy. It is with mixed emotions that we state we are so grateful for the connections we have made with many of you—friendships that have been formed and forged only by reason of the deepest human grief possible. We love you and your friendships, and look forward to the day when God will fully redeem and restore us. On that day, we will have it all, for we will have these deep and lasting friendships, and we will have our children restored to us as well.
Thanks again for your support.
Cory and Heather Wessman
Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-79648848138595892522015-09-17T05:52:00.002-05:002015-09-17T05:52:30.365-05:00Was It Me?In the immediate aftermath of Micah's death, both Heather and I struggled with whether God was punishing us for our own past sins by taking Micah from us. The Lord used the words of our pastor to encourage us through, among many other words of scripture, the precious words of Jesus in John 9. When asked by his disciples why a certain man was born blind, Jesus responded, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him." But what does it mean that God's works will be displayed through the suffering of the blind man, and through Micah's (untimely) death? Does it have anything to do with us?
This past year, I have been greatly humbled by physical suffering, as I have written about previously. Through that suffering, God has shown me the degree to which I have grown self-sufficient, self-indulgent and even self-aggrandizing. Praise God, he has intervened in my life so as to keep me from a path of destruction. Physical suffering changed my course to make me dependent on God. In this matter, I have been blessed to see that God's intervention is indeed an act of love. Hebrews 12:6 says, "The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is ultimately for God's glory that God will use life circumstances to make me into a more Christ-like follower of him.
I am indeed one of the many reasons why the Lord took my son Micah--but it was not for past sins, but for future glory. Our past sins have been wiped clean by the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. God is not requiring an additional blood sacrifice by taking your child or my son. But one of the ways that God demonstrates his own glory is through how He uses suffering to change the day-to-day lives of those who claim Him as Lord and Savior. If you trust in Jesus, you can be assured that God will use life circumstances to make you more like him. I pray that all of us would use sufferings, large and small, to recenter our lives on the glory of God and seek to understand the works He is accomplishing through our lives. Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129197981999330165.post-67333768370500229142015-08-16T06:13:00.003-05:002015-08-16T06:13:58.922-05:00Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN6_WFky8wt2hP3o5V-WEfieXEt8XqD9FMCWPwxKLZ4BE1zZeTZsYmzIJoWjTFC_tnR77aSHCYPTKXb8QM_xvwD-vmAv9SgjyyqUi0viEeMGJX98J68q-io4ZMRSPDxtjysZ_MzwKMB30/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN6_WFky8wt2hP3o5V-WEfieXEt8XqD9FMCWPwxKLZ4BE1zZeTZsYmzIJoWjTFC_tnR77aSHCYPTKXb8QM_xvwD-vmAv9SgjyyqUi0viEeMGJX98J68q-io4ZMRSPDxtjysZ_MzwKMB30/s320/007.JPG" /></a></div>
A few weeks ago, we marked 6 years since our little boy went "Home" to be with Jesus. As one may gather from the picture, our days are filled with lots of love and laughter by reason of the activities of our three living children (Owen, 5; Brendan, 4; and Kinsley, 2). For us, like so many fellow Christians grieving the death of a child, we love in an age of apparent contradiction. We are, in Paul's words, "...as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." 2 Corinthians 6:10. While the waves of grief are shallower, and less frequent, then they were a few years ago, we continue to grieve. We face the realities of death "head on," not ignoring grief, or pretending that grief does not significantly impact us in so many ways. From the outside, our lives are filled with many good things. Heather and I feel blessed by three living children of differing abilities and interests, a fun neighborhood, a busy law practice, and good physical health.
But the absence of our oldest son from our family creates a "hole" in our lives and in our affections. No matter how otherwise "happy" we think we can be, we recognize that we will never be truly satisfied on this side of eternity. It will not be until we see Jesus that these "holes" will be filled. For this reason, Paul can say that any Christian, regardless of his or her circumstances, can be rejoicing, since one's ultimate source of happiness and joy comes from our relationship with Jesus. For us, and I know for many other grieving parents, the ongoing blessing of a "missing" child is the continual reminder that this world is not our true home, and that we long for that day when we will be welcomed home. Until that day, we look ahead in both sorrow and joy.Cory Wessmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481669596347417897noreply@blogger.com0