His Love Hangs On

The holiday season is over, and so I’ve been busy packing up the decorations that help make it so special. One by one, piece by piece, they are put away till it’s time for them to  bring joy again next year.

I added something new to my collection last December, however… a small pre-lit pine tree with a few sprigs of holly and pinecones nestled in the branches. Inspired by a t-shirt my sister gave me, my daughter-in-law and I spent a fun morning winding little yarn ball ornaments to hang from the branches, reflecting my love of both knitting and Christmas. I loved the way it turned out and switch the lights on to add cheer to my devotional hour each morning, even long after all my other Christmas lights have been dimmed for the year.

The problem is that I have enjoyed it so much that now I can’t bear to put it away. And so, I decided I could decorate it seasonally and allow it to stay. And it turned out that God wanted to use it to illustrate a message He sent my way.

You see, a friend of mine lost her husband suddenly just the other day. He went out to run an errand, and she saw his truck pull in the driveway upon his return… except he never reentered the house. Concerned, she went out to see what he was doing and found him unresponsive; despite heroic measures to resuscitate him, he passed away. Her heart is broken; she is feeling her way day to day… a path all of us reading this blog have trod.

While I hadn’t seen either of them in years, I remember them both fondly from the days years ago when my husband led a small group Bible study in their home. Once a week Terry set a hot meal in front of us as we visited over her kitchen table. Then the table was cleared, the notebooks and Bibles came out, and my husband shared a lesson of some sort which we discussed together. We always ended in a time of prayer, and left with warm and happy hearts; laughter and peace were our escorts home.

Years have passed since those days, and how strange to think that the men in that group are all celebrating with Jesus today in Heaven. I like to picture them enjoying being together again, sharing laughs and exploring the wonders of Heaven together.

Although they are all gone, One remains, One who loves each of us as fiercely as our husbands once did. We are not alone. He brings love, comfort and direction in every way that we need it. And so, as I packed away the holiday decorations, I felt led to leave one particular set or ornaments out – a collection of small hearts that I will hang on my little tree in place of the yarn balls I made. To me they represent the Love of the Christmas season, which although perhaps we feel most in December, remains with us in January, February, and every month that we “march” through in the rest of the year. I think God would remind us that the love of our husbands “hangs around” our lives constantly; it’s not packed away upon their deaths. We catch glimpses of it increasingly as we go through our days, and we will notice it more and more as our eyes and hearts grow accustomed to looking for it.

God hung His Heart upon a rough cut “tree” for me a long time ago; I’m so grateful He never has packed it away, but that it comforts, guides and encourages me every day.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

(Romans 8:35,38-39 NIV)