Faithfulness

Pastor Kevin has been teaching on the Fruit of the Spirit for a season...It has been AWESOME!!!!!  Last week it was on Faithfulness...

You know what he said, over and over again?  

Faithfulness is Love Hanging On!

I witnessed that last night but not in the way you would expect.  John and I went over to spend some time at Steve and Sue Stanfords house.  Steve has been battling cancer for awhile now and she had posted the day before that his time on earth here was nearing its end so John called and asked if we could come by.  Steve has had a wonderful journey in our church and we were privileged to be a part of the journey as he became part of the worship team and consequently part of a close knit group of people who met every week to sing, laugh, joke, tease, argue, and in general, be a family of believers together.  Steve was sold out to the team and would always come even when it wasn't his rotation to be on.  He was a servant at his very core.

Last night we went to the house and Bruce was there to sit with Steve while Sue did some errands in town. He and I and John sat and talked, about Steve's journey that we had gotten to share and about life in general. It was a very good time, all the while, you could hear Steve sleeping in his hospital bed.  Sue came home and we talked some more and I watched as she walked into the connecting room where Steve's bed was and watched her reach out and touch his face, stroking his cheek and talking to him lovingly and gently.  At that moment, I saw faithfulness...deep, tender, caring, loving, wholly devoted, love hanging on faithfulness.   It strikes me now, as I write that, that that is what the Lord must do with us, reach out and stroke our cheek, bringing comfort, peace, care and a gentle reminder that He is there, faithful to the end.

We lost a friend, a warrior, a brother in Christ and I am a little bit jealous that he gets to be in the arms of Jesus now but I am also sad that we will no longer get to look back at his smiling face on the conga's.  I will miss his ALL IN attitude and completely submitted, completely loving, completely surrendered to worship.

Faithfulness is love hanging on.....