Today as I was preparing to write and praying, God kept bringing this to my mind: Be Still and rest in My presence.
My heart is a bit heavy today. I can’t think of the first day of fall without remembering my daughter’s first best friend: Jared Wells.
They met in kindergarten and quickly became inseparable. Two peas in a pod. (By the way, the pictures up above came from my daughter’s scrapbook ). His mother, Paula, and I also became good friends bonding over our love of the Lord, our daily walks after we took the kids to school, and life in general. Many afternoons of sun, fun, and laughter were spent together. We even had the pleasure of taking him to Disneyland for the first time! 🙂
Their friendship lasted until around third grade when they moved away to Arizona. This was before Facebook and all other social media platforms so keeping in touch wasn’t as simple. Life got busy: we moved, they moved, I had another daughter, etc.
I’d like to say I kept in touch on Facebook once it became available, but it’s a chore for me to post because I don’t like posting about myself in general. And, my daughter Suzanne, was not allowed to have her own Facebook profile until she was 18–I know, mean mom!! So, Facebook became more of a visual way of keeping in touch rather than a communication tool.
Years went by, middle school, and finally, we got to senior year–2014/2015. Ironically, I started reading the book of Job on the first day of Fall 2014. The reason I can say this is because several times the Lord has placed it very strongly on my heart to read the Bible cover to cover and date it as I go along, almost as though I am journaling through it. Here is an image of my bible dated on that particular day.
About two days later, I got a very strong prompting to check my friend Paula’s Facebook page. It was so incredibly strong I couldn’t ignore it.
I remember letting out a small scream and crying as I read the beginning of her post:
Jared Wells 1997-2014
Apparently, on September 23rd–the first day of Fall–he was out running before school, training for a marathon, when he was hit by a van and instantly killed. He was a senior in high school and planned for a career in the military. My heart broke that day for so many reasons and I pray often for his parents and sisters.
I sought God’s wisdom and discernment on how and when to tell my daughter. She is extremely sensitive and this was her first real experience with loss. It was several weeks before we had the conversation, but in my heart of hearts I knew she had some inclination to it and I’ll explain why.
About a week after Jared passed away he would have celebrated his birthday. He loved pumpkin pie and would have wanted it for his birthday. Through social media, his mother asked everyone to have pumpkin pie on his birthday, in his honor, and post pictures. Tons of pictures poured onto her page.
Before I told my daughter what had happened to Jared we celebrated her 18th birthday on December 10th. What kind of cake did she want?! Pumpkin pie!!! She never asked for that before and she hasn’t since. I can’t help but think that somehow this was connected to Jared and their strong friendship. I believe, through Christ, our hearts and souls are connected, even after death. Even though in her mind she didn’t know the loss, her heart did.
It warmed my heart so much that night and I thought of Jared. What an amazing best friend he was to my daughter the first few years of school and what an amazing young man he was becoming.
I shared all of that with her and she knows, like me, what a gift people are to us and we should never take any relationship or day for granted. Everything we receive are gifts from God and today, even more than usual, I cherish everything.
So, yes, today God I am resting in your Presence. I am going to Be still. Be thankful. Love every person you have allowed me to share my life with and share the hope that your Son, Jesus, can bring to every person!!
All the glory to God,
Shanon
Image of “Be Still…” by CHEKABC–Christian Schooling @ home http://chekabc.ca/blog/be-still-and-know-that-i-am-god
difficult times) to shine as a beautiful stained glass mosaic as a result of the glory of God with the light of Jesus shining from within me. To do that, especially during dark days, I have to add fuel to the flame. I do this by reading the Word of God, praying, singing along to worship music, and fellowshipping with other believers.
In the fall of 1990, while my mother was sick with cancer, the church I was attending at the time had copies of a monthly devotional book called, “Our Daily Bread.” Several copies were placed neatly on a table along with the monthly bulletins and tithe envelopes. Because of my extreme anguish and pain at the time, I was hungry for anything from God to soften my pain and give peace to my anxious soul. I immediately grabbed one and devoured page after page. I still have the tattered, highlighted, and ear-marked copy. It is a testament to me of God’s faithfulness and love, and yes, new beginnings.
over the Potomac River, I imagined our First President, mulling over the day and collecting the very thoughts that led him to be known as the Founder of American Democracy. Washington’s dream (and legacy) was of a free and democratic country; liberty and justice for all. “While we are contending for our own liberty, we should be very cautious not to violate the rights of conscience in others, ever considering that God alone is the judge of the hearts of men, and to him…” (Mount Vernon.org).
All 
ar. Here is an excerpt from his page on the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial website:
I cannot think of “Some Gave All” without thinking first of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. “And if you ever think of me, think of all your liberties and recall, some gave all.” Jesus died and gave all to show His own love for us (John 3:16; John 15:13), to reconcile us to God (1 Peter 3:18), and to give eternal life to all who believe in Him (John 3:36). There IS glorious, awesome freedom in Christ Jesus.
about God, is that sometimes He blesses us with what we need before we know we need it.
Heaven Sent Sentiments 