Skip to main content

June Days

Fighting Words Friday: God of All Comfort — Ellie Holcomb

June has always been a bittersweet time of the year for me. In June there are happy and sad anniversaries, pretty close together. In 1989 as my wedding was being planned for June - my father died suddenly - eight days before my wedding. The day after my wedding, was Father's Day. Through the years, God's comfort and strength being ever near, I realized how only God can take a tragic time filled with grief and loss and transform lives with hope, peace and joy.

There was a choice to be made back in 1989 - to sit in despair or move forward. My family chose to move forward, and the very next step for us was a wedding and the beginnings of a new family. Of course I miss my father deeply and treasure the memories shared with him. He instilled a lot of knowledge and wisdom of life into me and unconditionally shared his love with me.

As I took the new steps of a new life with my new husband, I look back over the years and say that I am blessed beyond measure! God gave me a wonderful husband who is the true godly head of our home and a wonderful father to our sons.

So, as June and the anniversaries come each year, it is with fond memories I look back and with joy, hope and gratitude I look forward. A verse which I have held dear to my heart and has brought comfort countless times is found in II Corinthians:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. II Corinthians 1:3,4

Comments

  1. Oh, gosh, I am so sorry. That must be really hard. It must have been horrible at the time. I am glad you chose to move forward. Just know that one day you will see your sweet Dad again in heaven. I am so glad that the Lord blessed you with such a great husband and that he is such a great father to your kids.

    Gentle hugs, Sharon

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am so sorry that your memories of your wedding include the death of your father. But God has given you a wonderful outlook on things and blessed you. We just celebrated our 22nd anniversay yesterday. We were married on Father's Day. I remember asking Daddy if he would say the closing prayer at my wedding and he said no, he would be crying too much.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm so sorry you lost your loving dad at a time, when you wanted it to be the happiest day of your life. You have a great attitude. I'm so glad God blessed you with a wonderful husband. You will see your dad again and there will be no tears. Bless you, Kathi

    ReplyDelete
  4. Joyce,

    That verse does give much comfort. I'm so sorry for your loss. Your dear father. I'm sure he was smiling down on you from Heaven. Your family was so wise to move forward with the wedding.

    Blessings,

    Gina

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm sorry for the loss of your Father. I can't even imagine all the emotions that faced you on your wedding day that year. But, I think the verse you have chosen on which to focus is GREAT. Our Lord does comfort us and carries our tribulations for us when we turn them over to Him.

    Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a beautiful verse. I love this one too. I wish I didn't have to lean on it in this lifetime, but I have myself too.

    What a lovely story about persevering through grief and heartache.

    God is so awesome, isn't He?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for sharing your commment. It is a joy and blessing to hear from you and your words are appreciated.

Popular posts from this blog

Sometimes We Score, Sometimes We Block

Our family is in the midst of little league soccer season. My youngest son is playing and his enthusiasm is contagious. He is pretty good at the sport, but what makes it so great is that he loves it! He counts the days until the next game or practice. He loves his coach and teammates. He has moved up an age level this year and the players are working more like team, passing to each other and watching out for each other during play. During the last game, my son scored two goals, they were the only goals of the game. In today's game the team scored eight goals. My son came up afterwards to me and said, "I didn't score today, but I blocked". What a powerful truth those words can hold. In life, sometimes we score, sometimes we block. Sometimes we do great things, we excel, we achieve, we meet our goal - we score! There are also times we see the needs of others, sometimes they are sad or hurting, we block their hits. We look out for them so they can score. We

Relationships and Redemption

In every friendship or relationship, there is a common hope that they will grow and flourish. There is something inside of us that longs for a 'happy every after' story. We dream about it and work to make that happen. But in reality, relationships are a challenge. The bridging of values, lifestyles, interests and sacrificing for another are simply hard things to do! No matter how much we dream of the perfect fit, some relationships will not endure the stress.  When differences appear and tensions arise, prayer can change situations, attitudes and ourselves. For the Christian, we know God can transform, change, heal. We cannot change others, but prayer opens us the door for God to step in and answer. God desires transformation, but does not demand it. The gift of free will allows us to choose to say Yes or No to Him.  Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Take notice of the first two words: “If possible …” This implies that some

A Blank Page - A Great Way to Fill It

A blank page - that is the first view of a new blog post. It has been a while since I have faced the blank page of my little blog! A blank page can bring a variety of emotions - emptiness, anxiety, pressure to perform or emotions such as inspiration, encouragement or simply bursting to share something. But there is always something fresh and exciting about the blank page of a New Year. Happy 2023! This is always a time in my life where inspiration and plans are formed and ready to be implemented for greater change. Aspirations may start strong, but alone do not make a difference. It takes consistency to create change. The changing or adding small habits is a key to great changes. A habit that has been beneficial in my life for many years is rising early. It began when the children were small and was the only pocket of time I had to myself. Through the years, mornings have become my favorite time of the day. Now that my husband and I are empty nesters, we go to bed early and rise early.