A Season of Loss

It is hard to believe that I have not blogged for ten months!! So much has happened since our return from Brazil that life has been a bit consuming! I have missed writing about our lives, for to me writing is therapy! I have much to share but will try to catch everyone up in a couple of different entries starting with "A Season of Loss". I will begin with the following verse in Matthew 6:19:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

As mentioned in our previous blog, my mother in law was fighting for her life last February. She lost her fight and went home to be with the Lord on February 25, 2010. How thankful we were to have had one last Christmas with her. Her passing has left a void in our lives, but we are incredibly grateful that she is no longer suffering. Her legacy lives on in her two amazing sons and her six grandchildren.

Losing Barbara was just the beginning of personal loss for our family. We have known nine people who have died since our return from Brazil. One of those people was a dear Brazilian friend of ours, Danihlo. We mentioned Danihlo in past blogs. He was instrumental in the success of our time living in Brazil. He was invaluable to our family and especially to Marko as he pursued business in Brazil. We feel the sting of his death and our hearts go out to his wife, Claudia, and their son, Daninhlo.

Physical death has been only one type of loss in our lives. We have experienced losses of lesser magnitudes including loss of our company, assets, finances, and material items. Though these pale in comparison to the loss of human life, they each require their own form of grief. So, I guess you could say this has been a year of grieving for Marko and I. Not only have we said goodbye to many dear people, we have also said goodbye to our company, Lifestyle Homes, and all of the people, successes, and purpose that went along with it.

This has been a year of letting go of the past with its successes and failures and embracing the uncertainty of our future. It has been a year of searching our hearts and digging deep within our souls in order to find the strength to begin again. Our strength comes not from ourselves but from the Spirit of God living in us.

With all of these losses and the continued pressures from a deteriorating economy, we hold on to the fact that as Christians, our treasures are in heaven! Where are your treasures today? I believe this is a time to take inventory of our lives and consider that which we can take hold of. I still struggle to let go of our past life. I will admit that I miss having financial stability. I do not, however, want to miss out on what the Lord is showing me during this time and I do not want to miss what he has for my future. So, I hold on to his promise in Romans 8:28: "In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."