Absent from the body, present with the Lord...
How little words are able to capture all the emotions of today...from watching Nancy kiss the casket at the Rotunda this morning in a farewell to her beloved husband to the eulogies of Margaret Thatcher, Brian Mulroney, George H.W. Bush and our current President to a service in the golden hour when his son Ron remembered his fascination with earlobes to the slow march to his final resting place lead by a piper playing "Amazing Graze".
Our nation lost one of the greatest men of the 20th century, and our lives - the lives of everyone in this world! - are the richer for his having lived.
And so, as the sun sets in California, with the echoes of a 21 gun salute in the background and the melancholy strains of Taps drifts across the golden hills, I thank God for Ronald Reagan, for his life, his integrity, his faith, his example.
Ronald Reagan believed that everything happened for a reason, and that we should strive to know and do the will of God. He believed that the gentleman always does the kindest thing. He believed that people were basically good, and had the right to be free. He believed that bigotry and prejudice were the worst things a person could be guilty of. He believed in the Golden Rule and in the power of prayer. He believed that America was not just a place in the world, but the hope of the world.
~ President George W. Bush, June 11th, 2004
An Update...
Quick update on the situation with my stepbrother and his partner...I never did reply to Tim's last email...he's fixated on divorce and adultery, and I simply needed a break from the stress of all of this. In the interim my sister (Laura) had decided to go to the reception to show Tim that she cared about them even though she didn't support what they were doing.
She called me a few minutes ago to tell me that Ken, who visited regularly on Tuesday nights, refuses to visit any longer since Laura is there. Erin (our stepsister, Tim's sister) talked with them to find out why and they said that Laura's refusal to attend the ceremony even though she'd attend the reception was still an insult.
I think the brouhaha is over at last, but I'm guessing we'll see a divide in the family over this.
I don't want to sound callous, but I really don't care about their opinion except in how it affects family occasions. I'm fairly sure that those who support Tim won't be attending any family events my sister and I attend...it's sad to see that, but they're the ones deciding to do it.
So, I'm a little sad but overall am at peace with all of this. I believe I'm making the right decision even more after hearing of Tim and Ken's response to my sister's attempt at compromise. Their hardened hearts are very sad to see, but they're willingly choosing their paths.
May God have mercy on them and continue to draw them to Him, and may He open the eyes of their hearts to His love, mercy, grace as well as His righteousness...and may God help me to keep from pride and self-righteousness and know that but for His grace I'd be just as badly off as them :( It's not about self-righteousness...it's about
HIS righteousness,
HIS grace,
HIS mercy,
HIS sacrifice...nothing I can do makes me worthy or better than them; it's simply that I accepted the sacrifice of Christ on the cross as the atonement for my sins and by that acceptance and the confession of Christ as my Savior that I've been made worthy. Not by works, but by faith.
