Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Speak your praises!

Tonight my grandma Briegel passed away; safe into the loving hands of God, as they say. She was 92; a long life lived mostly on God's path. She is now at peace and rest and I am sure to her great joy, reunited with her husband of 60 years. To her credit, I never heard her say a bad thing about the guy. She loved him. She always said, "He was so good to me." I fumbled upon a fitting Bible verse today,
Pr. 22:1 "A good name is more desirable than great riches, to be
esteemed is better than silver or gold."
By honoring her late husband she blessed him. And she gave herself a good name in my book; a woman who spoke praises of the one she loved. Over the past several years, she has lived nearby with my Aunt and Uncle. And what did I hear about them? "They are so good to me."

Maybe the biggest lesson she learned in her long life was to appreciate the good in people and to be thankful for what they do for you. Not bad, for 92 years. I hope we younger folk can take that advice and run with it too!
I want to be a glass half-full not half-empty sort-of gal. I want to be the one that sees the flowers after the rain, instead of dwelling on the rain ruining my picnic. I want to be one that enjoys the sufferings of life along with the happy moments, knowing that they will all be bound together in God's special tapestry of my life and will paint the picture that He so chooses. Beauty. It is reflected. Who or what are we reflecting?
I hope I can take the good old-age wisdom from my "Nena" as I called her, and pass it on to my kids and grandkids: Speak blessings on people and tell them how much you appreciate them. Speak well of them to others.........and you will be blessed. With long life, yes..........but also with a trail of spiritual fruit! I am sure she would admit she was not perfect, but she did leave a trail of people behind her in her life that love Jesus with all they've got. Now that's something to be grateful for! I have to believe she prayed for her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren to know and love Jesus. Maybe she did not do "great things" for God in her lifetime, but maybe, just maybe, she passed the torch of love for God, despite her shortcomings, and left a legacy of thanksgiving. I hope we can all continue the good habit she started by speaking her praises to God and to others!

2 comments:

  1. Oh, Jod, so sorry to hear about your Nena! Must be such a comfort for your family that she loved Jesus and is with Him now. How is your dad? Have always loved your dear dad! Great thoughts on thankfulness--the key to unlock joy and contentment. What a legacy! I hope to leave the same. Thanks for sharing. Will pray for you guys.

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  2. Sorry to hear about your Nena... but what a lovely tribute you gave her... may we all strive to leave a legacy of praise and devotion and to have someone around who "got it..." Miss you...

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