Dear Grands, 

Oh, this storm called COVID. I am struggling this morning as a young family friend has lost his fight with this ugly monster.  

“If only he’d been vaccinated…” runs through my sad mind. I don’t believe for one moment this was God’s intended will, although I believe not one detail escaped God. All along God knew Dave would join Him, but He gave him free choice to decide about earthly protection. He is the giver of good gifts, but choice as well. 

I’ve learned the hard way that consequences often follow my decisions. 

But I’ve also learned that He covers us with his perfect Grace. 

God rescued our friend by arresting his suffering and welcoming Dave into his Presence yesterday. 

Our Father bids us to offer our imperfect grace to those who make unwise choices. A friend is always ready to pick up the broken. And just as importantly, Jesus asks us to grace ourselves. We can’t waste what He did for us on the Cross: perfect forgiveness!

Oh, Grands, offer and receive grace…always, dear ones. 

Be held, Gigi

 

 

20th Anniversary of 9/11

 

Dearest Grands,

9.11.2021

Today we remember. 

Twenty years ago, four planes tried to destroy our country. They did not! They caused a lot of damage and killed a lot of innocent people, but they could not destroy the American spirit. People were brave and they stood together in resolve and unity. I’ll spare you the details of that horrible morning, not because you can’t handle the tragedy, but because I challenge you to read the stories for yourselves. You must own your nation’s history-all of it: the good and bad…the blessings and the hard. Remember, we don’t forget  lest we visit such again. 

We all had to be brave that day and we had to wait. Granddad was grounded in Portland, Oregon. We didn’t know his location for hours or when we would see him again. Others waited for word of whether or not their loved ones made it out of the fiery buildings. 

Today, I encourage you not to use the excuse, ‘Well, that’s way before I was born’ to not remember 9/11. I was not alive during the surprise military attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, but every December 7th, I reflect on the events and loss of life in Hawaii. My grandfather left his wife and two daughters to serve in the Navy shortly after we officially entered WWII. He sacrificed a lot to defend our nation,  so I remember his and many others’ courage and pursuit of freedom. 

I visited Ground Zero the summer after the Twin Towers collapsed. It was my physical way to grasp the magnitude of the enemy’s destruction; history is seared into my memory. 

            

I captured this photo  of a steel beam from one of the skyscrapers that rescue workers hoisted up weeks after the attack. It helps me never forget the ripple effect of evil, but more importantly, who holds our future. A cross in the rubble…hope in Jesus who hung on a wooden crossbeam to give us Himself, the Hope of Glory. 

My dearest Grands, never forget Christ triumphs all evil. When tragedy strikes, don’t lose sight of his Hope for He wins in the end!

And remember, as He knows every one of the names recorded on this flag, He also knows yours!

Blessings, Gigi