Today has been a day filled with twists and turns. I had the opportunity to officiate the wedding celebration of Paul and Jamie this afternoon. What a beautiful wedding it was. Most importantly, they are an amazing couple and I am so proud of them. They both waited for years to discover who God had for them and what a blessing it has been to see them grow and come to this point in their journey. I was blessed to see such joy today as everyone joined together in such a sweet and special celebration.
Then tonight, as I arrived home from the wedding, I received a call that our longest tenured member had passed away a few moments earlier. I immediately went to his daughters home where he was being cared for during these last days of life. As I drove to the home, my heart twisted and turned from the celebration of the wedding earlier today to complete sadness. Jim was such a delightful man and such a blessing to our Southside family. After being with his family for a couple of hours I began my journey home and God gave me another twist as I was filled with gratitide for Jim that now he is in the presence of his JESUS! Wow, what a blessing for him to be in the presence of God.
At Southside, we are indebted to this man who became a member of our church when Southside was still a mission in the 40's and meeting in a tent. He has seen our church in every stage and he was such a humble servant of Christ. As I worship tomorrow, I will be thinking about how blessed I am to worship, along with all of you, as we (stand on his shoulders) for the foundation he gave for each of us.
As I sat in my recliner late tonight to finish my sunday school lesson, I felt that I needed to write about today. The truth is, every day will have twists and turns (joys and sadness, victory and grief, and blessing and mourning) but God is always with us.
I am thankful that His presence was felt at the wedding today in such a remarkable way and that his presence was equally felt tonight in a powerful way as the family of one of our patriarch's went home to be with his Lord.
Thank you JESUS for your presence in our lives.
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