Last night, my Uncle Edd, Dad's oldest brother, peacefully entered the presence of The Lord after battling cancer.
Kristy, his daughter, shared such a sweet post this week about him and how their family has been walking through this time and I wanted to share the verse that mentioned:
I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that in the end He will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see Him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!
-Job 19:25-27
I am thankful that he spent his last days on earth being surrounded by his family and loved ones coming and going to share their love with him/them. I am thankful that they were surrounding him and reading scripture aloud in his room, reminding one another that he would soon be at the feet of Jesus and that we serve a Redeemer who lives and because of that, we too get to live in eternity with Him.
I loved looking through some of Edd's pictures that he had posted on his page over the years--these older pictures of their family. Edd was proud of his family. His precious wife, his two children, his grandchildren, his brothers, his parents. He was always posting a good "oldie".
This sweet wedding photo of him and Aunt Gail.
At our wedding, all married couples were asked to hop on the dance floor and the couple that had been married the longest was the last one standing. I chose to share this picture because that's them. They had been married the longest out of all the people at the reception. I thought it was a sweet moment to get to share with them on our wedding day. They had been married 45 years at that time.
One of the things that I loved most about Uncle Edd was that he was larger than life.
That's why I love this picture. That huge smile you see there--that's what you were always greeted with. Even this past Sunday when we went to visit him in the hospital, I saw that same big, Uncle Edd smile, come across his face as we talked to him and held his hands.
As sad as we are, we are rejoicing that he is completely healed, in no more pain, and is now in eternity. He's in heaven and what a joy that is. We find comfort in the assurance that we will see him again one day and I find comfort in the thought that he's joined the chorus with his Mom & Dad now.
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
-Isaiah 40:28-31
Here you have my Uncle David, my Dad, my Grando, and Uncle Edd. I love this picture of these men and I love how much it represents. Deep, deep seeds of faith were planted in these men from the first days of their lives and it has been a privilege to have them as a father, as uncles and a grandfather. Today, I am choosing to praise The Lord today for Godly men that stand as the foundation of the Jussely name. As we lay Uncle Edd to rest here on earth, we celebrate the fact that he is in eternity with our Lord that led and shaped the full life that he lived. Praise God for life after death and praise God that we will all be reunited one day.
