Three years?

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” - Psalms 90:12

It is hard to believe, looking back now, almost 13 years ago (I guess it will be 13 years ago on September 25), I snapped this picture. Sure, I thought it was funny – a photo of several people getting set up to take timer pictures of all of us. But, there was an ulterior motive – I thought the gal on the left, wearing the red bandana, was a pretty special gal. And boy, was I ever right. What a joy it was, when 525 days later, we made a covenant before God for “as long as we both shall live.” 3045 days later, Kelsey stepped into eternity. So many special memories made during those 3570 days from the day I snapped this picture until the day she was safely home. So much refining. So much grief and pain as Kelsey died here on earth and stepped into the presence of her Lord and Savior.

Three years since that day? Sometimes it feels like it has been much longer, sometimes much shorter. Throughout the despair, heartache, and grief, God has remained constant. I heard this song today for the first time (which I suppose makes sense, due to the fact it was written on June 29 for another husband left behind with his daughter). Many of you may have seen the story of Megan Johnson, who died in childbirth. This is a song which was written for her husband Nathan. The lyrics are below the video.


Always Good – Andrew Peterson

Do you remember how Mary was grieving?
How you wept when she fell at your feet?
If it’s true that you know what I’m feeling
Could it be that you’re weeping with me?
Arise, O Lord, and save me
There’s nowhere else to go
You’re always good
Always good
Somehow this sorrow
Is shaping my heart like it should
And you’re always good
Always good
It’s so hard to know what you’re doing
Why won’t you tell it all plain?
But you said you’d come back on the third day
And Peter missed it again and again
So maybe the answer surrounds us
And we don’t have eyes to see
That you’re always good
Always good
This heartache is moving me closer
Than joy ever could
And you’re always good
My God, my God, be near me
There’s nowhere else to go
And Lord, if you can hear me
Please help your child to know
That you’re always good
Always good
As we try to believe
What is not meant to be understood
Will you help us to trust
Your intentions for us are still good
‘Cause you laid down your life
And you suffered like I never could
You’re always good

Isn’t it true? There really is nowhere else to go! And God is always good! Praying God encourages you with that truth today …

Marvelous, Infinite, Matchless Grace

“The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” - Ps. 126:3

Grace. It is a word which has often been on my mind. God’s grace is something which I know in my head and experience in my life on a daily basis. I experience God’s common grace (the grace which is showered out on every human on earth) daily. “… For He [God] makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” - Matt. 5:45 “The LORD is good to all, and His mercy is over all that He has made.” - Ps. 145:9

I experienced God’s saving grace when I was five years old and recognized that I did not meet God’s standard of holiness and came to understand (in my limited understanding at that age) that God had made a way for me to have a right relationship with Him through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. I saw my need to confess the wrong things I had done (yep, even at 5, that was a fairly decent list), and ask Jesus to save and cleanse me and be the new ruler of my life. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” - Eph. 2:8-9 “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” - Rom. 5:8

I continue to experience God’s sanctifying grace as His grace enables me to become more like Jesus. I have a long way to go, and could not do it on my own! “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” - Phil. 2:13 “But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” - 1 Tim. 6:11-12 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” 1 Peter 2:9-11

And the list of other ways I see God’s specific grace in my life is long. A few selections: A wonderful family, a godly heritage, physical health, great training in walking with the Lord during my years at home, in college, and beyond, my church family (both local and universal), friends through all seasons of life, education, opportunities to see firsthand God’s work around the world, bringing Kelsey into my life and the over 8 years of marriage to her, the new members of my family which I gained from that marriage, the joy of welcoming Alexa into our family, my work and the flexibility it offered during Kelsey’s battle with cancer and after she stepped into eternity, direction, perseverance and guidance in single parenting, getting a different glimpse into God’s sovereignty even in times that are very difficult, and recently, bringing an incredibly godly woman into my life who not only puts up with me, but says she actually enjoys being around me!

As I thought about this post, and thought about those of you who have walked through the difficult journey which began on March 4, 2013 as Kelsey noticed a knot in her right forearm, I was struck by the fact that even in the midst of those dark times, God’s grace was apparent. For those of you who don’t know about this journey (and might want to), you can start back with the first post that Kelsey posted after she had heard the word “cancer” from the orthopedic surgeon she visited: https://goo.gl/sCMvdZ. It leads up to July 5, 2014, when Kelsey stepped into the next life where she is now completely cancer free: https://goo.gl/ebhx3W. And I realized that even if God had done NONE of the things that He has done in my life, even by having life and not being destroyed because of the fact I have not lived up to God’s standard of holiness, I would have experienced His grace: “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.” - Lam. 3:22

God could have dealt very differently with me and with all of us. He could have destroyed us completely when we turned our backs on Him. But, He showered us with grace.

He doesn’t promise happy endings on this earth, but there is a joyful ending promised to all who choose to believe in Jesus. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death” or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.’” - Rev. 21:3-7

I realize there may be many of you who are walking through hard times of your own right now and may not be feeling God’s grace. But, I can assure you God’s grace is there. And it will be there, whether you survive your sickness or not, whether you get married or not, whether you and your spouse can resolve the conflict you are walking through or not, whether you can have children or not, whether your children choose to walk with the Lord or not. WHATEVER you either experience or don’t, God’s grace is constant!

So, if any of you are still reading at this point, know this happy news is tempered with the recognition that our happiness is not guaranteed on earth. What is that happy news, you may ask? On May 13th, Sarah Malone said “yes” to the prospect of being my wife, to stepping into our family and walking through the “as long as we both shall live” which is to come! What grace! Sarah is an amazing young woman who loves God, loves people, loves children, has been willing to embrace all of the nuances of my life, is compassionate, caring, hospitable, beautiful … and the list goes on. What a joy it is to be able to enter into this new adventure at our wedding on August 12th! Sarah will be moving to Norman on July 10th and staying with a dear couple from our church. What fun it will be to have her closer than Louisville, KY!

A few pictures (from our proposal/engagement photo shoot):






I know many of you have been following this journey and may want to celebrate with us. We sent a LOT of invitations, but I know there are others who have faithfully read and prayed who did not receive an invitation. So, if you want to come to our wedding, we would love to have you! There is a website for you to visit and RSVP if you would like to attend (it also has all of the important details like time and location): https://www.theknot.com/us/ckandsarah.

Prayer requests:
-- Alexa’s understanding/adjustment in this new stage of life.
-- Alexa’s salvation.
-- Special time for Alexa and Sarah to spend together before the wedding.
-- Wisdom for both Sarah and me as we walk into this adventure and balance the various aspects of life both before and after our marriage.
-- Wedding details
-- Wisdom in how to point others toward Christ now and in the future.

Overwhelmed by grace

Photo Credit: Shannon Ho – Instagram: @shannonhophotography

"Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." - Hebrews 4:14-16

When Kelsey and I embarked on this unexpected journey over 4 years ago, I had no idea what sorts of hard things God would allow into my life. The converse of that is I also had no idea of how much grace would be outpoured in my life. I am so thankful for the “throne of grace” where I have consistently and repeatedly seen God’s mercy and grace which has been an incredible help in time of need.

There is no magic “easy” button in life. There is no magic prayer I can pray which will “force” God to act in a way which makes sense to me (and as I look back, I am thankful that is the case). The idea that we just need to “grin and bear it” is a load of horse manure. Over the past several months, there has been a word which has continued to turn over and over in my mind: Providence. What a mysterious and wonderful word. It is that word which helps us have faith that we can trust in a God of Whom the following verses are completely true: "Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?" - Lamentations 3:37-38

God is completely in control in EVERYTHING. In the good times, we celebrate that fact as complete truth, but in the hard times, there is a part of us that begins to wonder if perhaps, this one time, God wasn’t paying attention and something snuck by Him. But, as we see in a familiar passage (which we often stop with the first verse), God is working things for our good (specifically that we are conformed to Christ’s image): "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." - Romans 8:28-29

Isn’t it interesting to note: there were a WHOLE LOT of bad things which God was in complete control of, leading up to the horrific death of Jesus. And, Jesus was not a victim, but a victor in His death – fulfilling Scripture and triumphantly finishing the task which had been set before Him. Because of His death, if we choose to follow Him, we will experience eternal life in heaven with Jesus instead of the condemnation to an eternity apart from God we deserve. Because of His pain and suffering, if we choose to follow Him, the worst pain and suffering we can ever experience is here on earth, followed by an eternity without pain or suffering. Because of His separation from God as He bore our sins, if we choose to follow Him, we will NEVER again be separated from God. Those horribly bad things – shams of trials, mocking, beating, slapping, crowns of thorns, carrying a cross, crucifixion between thieves, taking on our sin (unimaginable as the perfect Son of God to have that sin put upon Him), separation from God (a state which had never happened in eternity past and will never again happen in eternity future), and a relinquishing of control as Jesus gave up His spirit (the Creator and Sustainer of all recognizing He would be powerless in death) – all for OUR good.

I know there are so many of you who have been faithful to pray. Many of you I know, but many of you I don’t. What a picture of the universal church it has been for me as I hear from people I don’t know at all who have prayed for Kelsey, Alexa and me during this journey. Thank you for those prayers! It is one of those moments of grace in my life that I want to share with each of you, my prayer warriors. God has brought an incredible young woman into my life. She has been willing to jump into the nuances of my situation: widower, single dad, two families who will continue to be involved, and an ongoing journey of grief. She has cared for me, cared for Alexa, cared for Kelsey’s family and the Kennedy family. We have shared many hours of FaceTime communication (she is currently living in Louisville, KY), exchanged a multitude of text messages, and had two incredibly sweet extended times to spend with each other and our respective communities (she knows a vast percentage of my community from having been here in Norman prior to moving to Louisville 5 years ago). It is exciting to see God’s direction, amazing to see the capacity of a broken heart to care so deeply for someone again, and so fun to see the excitement of our friends and family. And, photo evidence – otherwise I might be accused of making all of this up!

Me, Alexa and Sarah Malone (and a couple animals who joined as well).

Prayer requests:
-- Direction for both Sarah and me as we continue to seek God’s wisdom and clarity in our relationship – for our own personal walks with the Lord to grow and thrive.
-- Alexa as she processes this new development in life – for her to understand the great benefits of this relationship and not just see the potential changes.
-- For Alexa’s salvation
-- For wisdom with balancing the details of life well: time with Alexa, time with Sarah, time investing in the kingdom, time at work, time to rest.

Take heart!

First of all, it has been been a while since I last posted. I don’t know that I have any fantastic reasons for the slowness. I have thought about it a few times, then felt a bit overwhelmed thinking about how I will try to catch up on the last several months. I will try to give some high level details, but since today marks 11 years since Kelsey and I were married, hopefully you will pardon me if I wax a bit philosophical. The beauty of writing a post in blog form is that if you don’t want to read it, you certainly don’t have to! ;-)

We are studying through the book of John this year in BSF, and there have been a few things which have really stuck out to me over the past couple weeks, as I recognized this day was coming – certainly still a day of celebration, but in a very different way. A verse which stood out to me this week (and has been helpful to me over the journey of the past 4 years) is Jesus’ words recorded in John 16:33 – "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

It doesn’t take a lot of close looking to recognize there is trouble in the world. I think of my good friend who has had a recurrence of cancer and is in the midst of an aggressive chemotherapy while his wife is expecting their fourth girl any day. I think of my uncle, who is walking with my aunt through her cancer treatment (after she suffered from a stroke which has left her needing pretty constant care and not being able to be her normal independent self). I think of couples on the brink of divorce, people who are dealing with the fallout of a divorce, parents who question why their children have made terrible choices and now have to deal with the consequences. Trouble.

Then I look back at that verse. Why am I surprised? Jesus promised there would be trouble. Yet, sometimes we seem to get smacked out of the blue with it. Certainly there has been trouble in my life over the past 4 years. A cancer diagnosis, watching my wife go through a battle with cancer all the while wishing I could help, praying God would heal her, the details of a memorial service, details of making sure Alexa has good care, making sure the house doesn’t fall to pieces, needing to continue to work, trying to navigate the waters of dating when I certainly didn’t anticipate that being something that would be necessary. This isn’t a pity party, it is just pointing out the reality: Trouble. But, oh, thank God, the verse doesn’t end there.

Jesus knew His disciples and those who followed Him in years to come would have trouble, but He shared more. "But take heart!" What? How can we do that? That is the freeing part, it isn’t up to us to muster up the "taking heart", we can trust that Jesus has overcome the world. Think about this for a moment. Here are the disciples, being told (once again, but perhaps starting to get it a bit this time), that Jesus is going to die. The man they have left everything to follow for three years. How can this happen? Their sorrow is intense and will be even more intense in a matter of hours. Jesus recognizes all of that, but He says, "Take heart!" And the reason He gives: He had overcome the world. Now, the timing of when He said this is crucial. This is before He was arrested, before His friends deserted Him, before His sham of a trial, before being beaten and forced to carry His own cross to the place where He was crucified, before being scorned by the crowds, before all of the wrong things we have done were laid on Him (who is completely holy) and there was a moment when God the Father looked away – a relationship which had been completely unbroken from eternity past was broken. Trouble. For us. But, notice Jesus didn’t say, "Take heart! I will overcome the world." He said, "I have overcome the world" [emphasis mine]. He knew what lay ahead, but He knew he was going to die for our sins, rise again, ascend to heaven where He sits at God’s right hand, waiting eagerly for the day when He comes to claim His own. From the moment when Adam and Eve chose their own wisdom instead of God’s, Jesus had overcome. From before the world was even in existence, Jesus had overcome. Wow! Since I serve a God who has overcome, I can take heart.

That doesn’t mean the trouble won’t be hard. That doesn’t mean we won't have questions, but we know it is not a surprise to God - the same one Who told us to take heart has overcome the world. And God provides us incredible resources. If we have chosen to follow Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the truths at the end of 1 John 5 (verses 18-20) are true for us: "We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life" [emphasis mine]. Sin no longer holds power over us, we are no longer under Satan’s power, we can have understanding! In the midst of trouble!

Reminds me of a great song, As Long As You Are Glorified, by Sovereign Grace Music. Here are the lyrics:

Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings
Yet not welcome any pain?
Shall I thank You for days of sunshine
Yet grumble in days of rain?
Shall I love You in times of plenty
Then leave You in days of drought?
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest
But when winter winds blow, then doubt?

Oh let Your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified

Are You good only when I prosper
And true only when I’m filled?
Are You King only when I’m carefree
And God only when I’m well?
You are good when I’m poor and needy
You are true when I’m parched and dry
You still reign in the deepest valley
You’re still God in the darkest night

I am thankful for the amazing provision God has given in the midst of the challenges of the last several months. Alexa continues to grow and is a joy to be around (the vast majority of the time). She is enjoying first grade (here is a first day pic):

I am thankful for the great team of folks around me who have been so helpful: a gal who comes over twice a week to get Alexa ready for school in the morning, so I can get out and run, two gals who get her after school and help get her to music school and gymnastics, her teachers at school, music school, gymnastics and BSF, a gal who comes over ridiculously early on Saturday morning so I can go to BSF leaders meeting, a gal who has done a fantastic job of keeping the house clean, a great lawn care team, family who lives close by (thankful that her grandparents now live up in Edmond – that is such a helpful thing) and who is always willing to help out. Okay, here are some more pictures (along with descriptions):

Adventure with Kelsey’s family at River’s Edge.

Half-birthday celebrations.

At the fair.

Jog-a-thon at school.

Bone museum fun.

A daddy-daughter camping trip.

School zoo trip.

Halloween costumes.

Big kid day at her old school.

Tree climbing with her cousins.

Fun times decorating for Christmas.

Celebrating Alexa being chosen as a "Hero of the Month".

Christmas in Edmond.

Christmas in California.

Posing with a frog prince.

The Daddy-Daughter Dance.

Posing on The University of Oklahoma Campus.

McKinley Family Fun Night.

Getting eaten by a giant spider at the Sam Noble Natural History Museum.

There is a bit of a photo journey over the last several months. Also in there are numerous trips to the park, bike rides, trampoline jumping, and a lot of other things I have probably forgotten.

If you have made it this far, you are a glutton for punishment! Seriously though, God is good. Please do continue to pray for Alexa’s salvation. We have had some great discussions going through John this year in BSF, but she has not yet made a decision to follow Jesus. Pray for wisdom for me as I seek to raise her in a way that is God-honoring. Pray I will be faithful to encourage others who are walking through trouble of their own.

Thank you for your continued prayers and encouragement!

Two Years

Well, I have managed to go a really long time since my last post again. I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge this day - the day when two years ago, Kelsey stepped out of this earthly life and into her eternal one. As Alexa and I ate a double-doozie in honor of Kelsey this evening and I shared stories of her life with Alexa, I was reminded of the blessing it was to know her and get to share a few years of life with her as her husband!

Looking back on the past year, I again see how faithful God has been to Alexa and me. He provided a wonderful gal as a nanny who has loved Alexa so well and been willing to walk with her through the season of adjustment to new routine. He brought us to our new neighborhood and new home. He has continued to bless me through my work (great bosses and coworkers), and I am really at a place now where I am more mentally present and really able to enjoy what I am doing. I have seen God working in Alexa, softening her heart toward Him, softening some of her reactions toward others, and smoothing out some of the still rough edges of her very strong personality. I have seen consistent spiritual growth in my life - getting back to having consistent time in the Word and in prayer. There is really an incredible team of people who help out with Alexa. I have even been able to get out and exercise some, which has been incredible.

As I think through all of these things, there seems to be a common theme - hope! When I woke up on the morning of July 6th, 2014, in some ways I felt hopeless. Oh sure, mentally I still acknowledged the ultimate hope that one day God would make all things new, but life seemed pretty hopelessly broken as I surveyed what felt like ruins around me. In the midst of the seeming chaos, God didn’t leave. He was right there with me - working in my life, ministering to me through others, and continuing to call me to Himself. And now, I have hope. As I wake up on July 6, 2016 and on each subsequent day that God may give me, I have hope that even in the midst of whatever storm life may bring, God really is my refuge and strength. A friend texted me a passage I had recently read in my quiet time, and it seems so appropriate in light of the idea of hope:

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.” - Psalms 46:1-5

Very quickly, a synopsis of this past year. Alexa did very well in school. She navigated the waters of dealing with other people - either you are flexible in your demands (think wanting to play one type of game on the playground while others want to do something else), or you may end up playing by yourself. She enjoyed being involved in music school (singing is something she really enjoys) and got to sing a lot of songs. We managed to get moved in to a new place and are getting settled there. We have had some opportunity to travel - getting to go to California to see my family out there, getting to spend some time with my sister and her family in Maryland, and spending some time with friends in Saint Louis. I dated a great gal for several months before realizing continuing on was not what God had for us. That was a learning and growing time for me - helped me to deal with some aspects of grieving I might not have dealt with until much later otherwise. Alexa has tried a few new foods (still nothing super-adventurous, but her eating habits are improving). She has also become comfortable with going underwater (that was something which was a big fear for some time) and is loving getting to go to the pool this summer. She continues to be far better at drawing than I am (although being better than me is not necessarily a hug accomplishment) and is particularly fond of her “smelly markers” (scented markers). God has been gracious to bring another very special young lady into my life - and has helped us (for the past week and a half) to navigate through the waters of a long-distance relationship. I am sure there are other things I am forgetting - this is why not posting very often comes back to bite me!

I so appreciate those of you who still faithfully pray for Alexa and me. This side of heaven, I doubt I will even know how much your prayers have sustained and comforted me. Here are a few requests to lift up as you think of us:

-- Pray for Alexa to choose to follow Christ. She is hearing the truth in many ways, but has not yet made that decision. Pray I can point her toward Him and continue to shepherd her heart well.
-- Pray for guidance and direction in finding someone to help with Alexa after school each day (have been blessed by godly nannies who care deeply for Alexa thus far).
-- Pray for my long-distance relationship. Pray God would be honored and that He would continue to give both of us wisdom and direction.
-- Pray I can find a way to get consistent exercise. That has been healthy for me (in more than the purely physical sense).
-- Pray I would continue to be sensitive to be able to reach out to those who are dealing with heartache and loss.

Thank you again for praying!

Back to school

I know, I am one of those parents – posting the first day of school pictures. Alexa had her first day of kindergarten yesterday and she had a fantastic day. Alexa was laughing and talking with her nanny after school, and Alexa said, “I am full of joy.” Later in the evening, when I was getting her ready for bed, Alexa said, “I get to go to school tomorrow too.” I told her that she got to go to school on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and she said, “YES!” Ah, to have that sort of excitement about our daily lives as we grow older. And apparently, she is a lot more adventurous with her eating at school than she is for me at home. Today cheese pizza was on the menu for lunch (which Alexa was quite excited about), so she got to eat at school. Not only did she eat the cheese pizza, but she ate the salad, red bell peppers, and pineapple which were served along with it. She has never even been willing to try salad for me and she told me she loved it! I suppose stranger things have happened at other times in my life, but hearing that come out of her mouth was a bit of a shock.

I thought I would give a bit of an update with life for us around these parts. I am very excited about the gal who is Alexa’s nanny. She helped out with Alexa over the summer and is going to be able to continue into the fall. She loves Alexa and Alexa loves her (most of the time, but more on that later). She also loves Jesus – very glad to have her in Alexa’s life! Bible Study Fellowship will be starting for us on September 14, so my first early morning leader’s meeting will be on September 12. I think I am well on the way to having a great team of folks who can come over to be here in case Alexa wakes up on those early Saturday mornings (and there may be times that she’ll go and spend the night with her cousins).

Some additional detail about Alexa. She has been having some somewhat tough times with her nanny over the past week or so. I am certainly not trying to guess the cause of all of it, but she has had some major meltdowns, speaking (or screaming) unkind things, running away (in the store or this morning before the start of kindergarten), and throwing some major tantrums. I have spent time sharing with her that these are unacceptable behaviors and she is well aware there are very tangible consequences to her actions. She doesn’t behave in these ways with me currently, although I have seen samples in the past.

The house construction project continues along (not that I have too much to do with the construction). The exterior is nearly complete and they are getting the sheetrock up on the interior. It looks like move-in will be sometime in December (currently planned for right around Christmas time). Thankfully, a calm time of year! ;-)

In terms of how I am doing, there are aspects of this season which are easier and aspects which are more difficult. It was so hard to see Alexa so excited about going to kindergarten yesterday – thinking Kelsey would have been so proud to see Alexa heading off to school (and would have loved hearing her stories afterward). On the other hand, some of the edges of grief are softer now. When Kelsey comes to mind, I am struck with how grateful I am that God placed her in my life. There is still sadness, but I can genuinely be grateful for the years God afforded me. And, of course, I am so grateful for Alexa. I ran across this song the other day (Nearness – Jenn Johnson, Bethel Music), and it does a good job of capturing a lot of the thoughts which run through my head. I do still have questions, but I am content with them perhaps never being answered. I have often heard people say, “We’ll know why this happened when we get to heaven.” I certainly don’t see that guarantee anywhere in Scripture and I know that God does not owe me any sort of an explanation for why He does what He does. However, I do know that God is with me. He daily sustains and strengthens me.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. Here are a few specific ones:

-- Please pray for Alexa’s heart. I want to be able to shepherd her heart wisely. Helping her to understand fits of anger are not necessary when we don’t get our way. Helping her to understand her words can hurt people. Helping her to see there are consequences to our actions, even when we quickly say, “sorry”. So coupled with the prayer for Alexa is prayer for me and for Alexa’s nanny, that we can be wise in how we point Alexa toward the truth.
-- Praise God for His favor in helping Alexa’s transition to full-day kindergarten to be so smooth. She has so enjoyed it!
-- Praise God for the interactions he has allowed me to have with others who have lost loved ones. I am thankful He has already allowed me to see how the grief I continue to walk through can be used for good in my life and in the lives of others.
-- Pray that in the midst of the distractions and everyday pushes and pulls of life I will be faithful to continue to look to Christ for my sustenance and strength.

Reflections

One year ago, at 4:00 pm on July 5, 2014, Kelsey lived out the final stanza of a song which was very dear to her, Untitled Hymn, by Chris Rice:

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on glory's side
And fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live

It is hard to believe that Kelsey is a year into her eternal celebration of her Creator, Redeemer, and Friend. I suppose it will all even out in eternity, but I imagine, given her competitive nature, Kelsey will be giving others of us a hard time when we make it to heaven, because she has been praising Jesus in person longer than we have. :-)
So many thoughts have been going through my head over the past week. As we celebrated Independence Day yesterday, I was struck as I realized for the first time on Independence Day, Kelsey is no longer a citizen of the United States, but her citizenship is fully and completely in heaven.

Thinking back on the events surrounding her death: her love for her nurses and friends who came to visit her and who were unable to be there in person, her desire to have beautiful music playing whenever conversations were not happening, the silly times of laughter, and the moments of sharing tears, I cannot help but think how much Kelsey is enjoying perfection. Knowing others deeply and intimately, praising her Savior, enjoying perfect laughter and no longer enduring pain or dealing with tears.

So many memories of the time I have known Kelsey have come to mind. I remember the first time I really noticed her, the summer after she returned from Lebanon. She had a beautiful glow about her: she had learned a lot and been refined during her time overseas and it showed. “Wow, now there is one special woman.” Little did I know, how true that initial thought would prove to be. Lots of prayer and getting up the nerve later, I remember the night when I asked her if she would like to begin dating. She wanted to take time to find out a bit more before she committed – I am so thankful she never looked back once she did. The trip down to Dallas for Valentines after two weeks of dating (I think I scared her dad a bit when we showed up in a surprise visit to her parents). Crazy times spent traveling back and forth to Edmond (she was living there and I was living in Norman at the time). Late night talks, her taking care of me as I recovered from Lasik surgery (funny story there when she thought a candlelight dinner would help my eyes and I ended up requesting that we turn on more indirect light), my first ride with her (me on a mountain bike, her on a road bike), having her ring made, giving her a ring and telling her I loved her for the first time before leaving for six weeks when I went on a mission trip and had very limited contact with her, coming back and being so surprised when she met me in Memphis and a trip home which proved she could stick with me through thick and thin, as I had some severe digestive issues due to some not so friendly passengers who made the trip back from overseas in my GI tract.

I remember proposing, and the pause which seemed like forever before she said, “yes”. The whirlwind of preparation, marriage counseling, and deciding we would buy and renovate a house. Then the glorious day when we agreed to be each others for as long as we both should live. The adventure continued with a honeymoon, settling into a house and making it a home (Kelsey was in charge of that – I was in charge of moving furniture, hanging pictures exactly where needed, and keeping the exterior of the house looking decent). Special times being in a small group and later leading a small group. Many people got to experience the late nights with us as we would have people over or go to someone’s house and talk for hours (to be honest, Kelsey was asking questions and telling stories, I just enjoyed taking it all in). Outdoor adventures: bike rides, hikes, camping (not her favorite), walks, picnics, kite flying and time at beaches and lakes. Eating (something Kelsey loved): great food, delicious desserts, some less tasty food (burned by one or the other of us or food poisoning at a restaurant) which was still memorable. Special trips: California, Colorado, Charleston, Dallas, Bed & Breakfasts, Branson, and more. Wonderful conversations, whether laughing, more intentional conversations, or just talking about our days. Lots of celebrations. Birthdays, weddings, the birth of Alexa. And sad memories. As my grandfather, who Kelsey had only known for a short time, went home to be with His Maker. As we tried for several years to have children and were met initially with no success and then a miscarriage. Another miscarriage as Alexa got older. Friends moving away. And then, the cancer diagnosis.

Watching Kelsey be refined throughout our time together was beautiful. Seeing firsthand how God chipped away rough edges and made her more and more like Him. Watching as she released her preconceptions about God, continuing to trust Him for children, then trusting Him for healing, and ultimately trusting that God was in control even if she were not physically healed here on this earth.

And so a new phase begins, one where I have to look back more than a year to find my last memory of Kelsey. Uncharted waters. The reality is, as long as I tarry here on earth, those memories will be further and further back (yet still very much a part of who I am). The reality is, this is my new reality. I am a widower. I am raising a daughter. I still have responsibilities and life must go on for Alexa and me.

It has been a long time since my last post. We have been busy, true, but there have also been times I have thought of sitting down to type but don’t because it is a bit overwhelming, since it requires I compose my thoughts somewhat (if you are still reading this, you may wonder if I actually did that at all this evening). The house we are building is coming along. Alexa has enjoyed going in to look around. She is enjoying her special nanny for the summer. She continues to eat (not quite the appetite that Kelsey or I had), although she continues to be picky (sounds a bit like Kelsey was growing up). She is doing well. She keeps me on my toes and makes sure the energy I have after a day of work is devoted to her! I continue to figure out how to walk in this unexpected path God has me on.

There are a few prayer requests which I would pass along to my faithful warriors. I am humbled to know so many of you continue in faithful intercession. Thank you for your kind words of support over the past few days by text, email, Facebook messages and posts. I know I would not be where I am today without your boldness in approaching the throne. Thank you for your prayers!

-- Pray I can find a wonderful nanny for Alexa for this upcoming year. I will also need to find someone who can come hang out at the house ridiculously early on Saturday mornings as I go to Bible Study Fellowship leadership meetings.
-- Pray I can lead our family well. Pray I will take opportunities to nurture and lead Alexa. Pray I can be the support she needs.
-- Please continue to pray for her salvation. Pray God will draw her to Himself and that she will choose to follow Jesus.
-- Pray I will continue to grow in understanding of how to walk with God and trust Him in the midst of my ongoing grief.