Speaking of Peace PART 2 & 3 & 4!!!!

In February of 2002, just 3 short months before I was to give birth to my 4th child, my beloved Papaw died.It was hard. Hard for the whole family. I may have taken it harder than anyone. Add his death to the stress I was carrying over my baby, and it was heart wrenching.
In his eyes, being the only granddaughter and 8 years ahead of two of the grandsons, and about 10 years ahead of the third grandson, MEANT something! In fact, he and my Grandma doted on me as if I was another one of their kids. My Mom, Aunt Debbie, Grandma, and I used to joke about what my cut of the inheritance would be!

Growing up, I didn't get to see my Grandparents like I wanted to. I usually saw them over the holidays and maybe a couple of times during the summer. And every now & then, there would be an extra trip (either from them to us or us to them) thrown in. I always loved my time with them.

Days spent with my Grandma always included stories about my Mom, Mike, and Debbie when they were growing up. She was so good at telling me the history of her childhood and describing what it was like during the war and how things were "back then" (she still is!!!). We would talk about all kinds of things. We would go to their cabin in the mountains for a weekend. And there were a couple of summers that Papaw took us to Florida. On one of those trips, my Aunt Debbie (who is 10 years older than I) gave me a bloody nose!

Times with Papaw always included singing inspiring songs like "Barnacle Bill the Sailor" while he & I swung in the hammock. Eating cheese & crackers out on the screened in porch before bedtime. Playing games...his favorite was "Belt-Snicker", which was a "thing" that would "get us" after dark. He'd sit on the front patio while us kids played hide & seek, and watch out for the Belt Snicker. We had no doubt that there was one, and that it would get us if we weren't careful.
Grandma always bought me new shoes. Papaw would pay me for mowing his grass. Trips to the beach...

Memories...so many I couldn't possibly name them all here. Those memories bring peace. .

One of my long-time memories was praying for my Grandparents, Uncle Mike, and Aunt Debbie. I remember praying for them as a child, and have continued to pray for them through the course of my life.

I never knew if they knew the truth about God. And that always bothered me. After all...don't we want our family to celebrate in Heaven with us someday? I sure did! And on my own...I prayed that they would each come to a saving knowledge of Christ.

On the day my Papaw died, I was heartsick. I knew it was coming, he had suffered with Alzheimer's for about 6 months. He had gone downhill fast in the previous few weeks.

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But none of that prepared me for the hurting I felt the day he died.

The finality of death is an ugly intrusion to your heart.

And your hope. Especially your hope.

I knew I had prayed for years for salvation to come for these people that I love so much. But I wasn't sure. My Mom had told me about a time 2 years earlier, when Papaw was in the hospital, in which she had talked to him about Christ. She said that he accepted Christ as his Savior that day she visited him in the hospital. Knowing how badly my Mom wanted that, I wasn't sure that it wasn't just wishful thinking...so I continued to pray. And worry.

When my Grandma, Mom, & Dad got back to the house that evening after Papaw died, something super-natural had happened.

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Here is my Mother's account of that evening...I could never tell it as well as she...

"My dad had an antique clock that he just loved. It still sits on the mantle at their house. It's an old 8-day wind-up clock - huge thing that is key-wound counter-clockwise. He accepted it as payment from an old black man who couldn't pay his insurance premium, and the clock had been in a house fire and one corner had been burned. Of course it didn't run anymore - it was about to be pitched. Dad took it as payment and he paid the man's insurance. Restored the clock and the rest is history. I've watched my parents wind that old thing with the key - backwards - for most of my life.

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Dad was in the hospital fighting for his life (congestive heart failure) when I made a quick Sunday morning trip to Winston-Salem, unannounced - the year before he died. We planned his funeral - he wanted to do that and felt no one would listen to him.... and then afterward, as God would have it, I led him to Jesus right there in his hospital room. Just he and I there, and the Lord.When daddy was dying a year later, I spent the last 72 hours of his life by his bed... never closed my eyes... the family would go home to rest at night but I stayed and sang to him, quoted scripture to him, prayed with him... held his hand... reassured him of the commitment he had made to Christ.... talked about heaven.... I'm saying all of this to say that God KNEW MY HEART.... and when daddy died, I was holding the bottom of HIS heart in my hand - I literally felt his heart beat its last beat and knew he was gone - the time was 2:42 in the afternoon of Feb. 16, 2002.

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I was devastated, and I was a walking zombie - No sleep for 72 hours alone would do that, but there was so much more to it than no sleep. Again, God knew my heart.We made it back to my mother's house and as we were walking through the den, someone looked up and the old clock had stopped at exactly the moment dad had died. I was weary but God had a window to speak His truth to me while I was looking at that old clock..... "Your daddy is with Me"....... and it hit - Proverbs 21:1 - it even applied to how many backward cranks my mom had given that clock the last time she wound it before Daddy died.... she stopped at the precise place that would allow that clock to run down at the very minute its owner died. He is a God of detail and He will go to all lengths to make His word come alive if we're paying attention."

When my Dad called me to tell me about the clock, I nearly passed out with relief. And what was so incredible about it, was that I wasn't looking for God to speak to me concerning Papaw's salvation. But God DID speak to me. When Dad called...he told me about the clock and then asked what I was thinking. My immediate response was, "God has him! God has Papaw, and is reassuring us that He does!!!". And I experienced such an incredible peace about my Papaw, that I know to this day. All those years of praying...all those heartfelt pleads with the Lord did not go unanswered.

Peace, peace, incredible peace.

I still pray for my family. Even though I rarely get to see my Grandma (better known as "Ma", due to the GREAT-grandchildren!!!!), and my Aunt Debbie (and uncle Jim!)...they are so close to my heart.

We are preparing ourselves to go on a beach trip next month. Yep...ALL of us! They'll be 7 of my crew, my brother, my parents, my aunt & uncle, and my Ma. It's a first for us. I think we're going to have such an incredible time, that we'll be kicking ourselves for not having done this before.

I bet we'll experience so much peace while we're there. Watching my own children sit in the sand while the ocean creeps up to them is so peaceful. We'll have enough laughter going on, that we'll ALL have to change underpants (laughter's always a given w/this crowd!). We'll laugh about those times that we spent with Papaw, down by the seashore. We'll laugh at how "worked up" Debbie gets over her crazy neighbors. We'll laugh over Luke's brand of entertainment. And we'll be at peace.

Oh...and by-the-way...that 4th child?

Her name is Scarlett Bay Jones.

And she's 100% healthy.

God was faithful...He IS faithful. Scarlett is brilliant. In fact, she's top of her class. And it's because God made her that way. And we will forever be thankful and yes, AMAZED by His mercies and blessings on our family.

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Sitting by the ocean...with the gentle breeze blowing. The rustle of the water as it shakes hands with the sand. And the big white puffy clouds, as they lazily float by...on to their next appointed place.