Jen and Jesus

Dear Friends,

I come to you today with a heavy heart. My dear sweet friend, Jennifer Jones, that I have blogged about for a while, passed away last night at 8:45. She was home, it was peaceful, she was surrounded by her family and those that deeply loved her (including my parents). We are so thankful that her suffering was non existent. Thankful that she was not afraid. Thankful that she is free from those things that have handicapped her during her life. It is still so so difficult. But also, easy to rejoice and thank God for no pain.

As I have walked with the Jones family through this (from a distance-since they are in Lubbock), I have just really had to take a good strong look at death in the eye. It is something that all of us are going to have to face one day. No matter how healthy or rich you are, you will die. Nothing can help us escape that fact. My first reaction to this truth of life is fear. I don't like death. It kind of freaks me out. But then, when i think about the biblical truth of death, I can take a deep breath and know I don't have anything to fear. As a Christian, I know that death is a good thing. It means I get to be with Jesus, to worship God face to face. To be free from sin and sickness and fear. I know there is joy in earthly death, because that is when eternal life begins. But, I realize not everyone has the same belief system as me. I have a lot of friends who are not Christians. And I wonder how they deal with death? This is not coming from any judgemental place in my heart, but just real curiosity. How do you look death in the eye and not fear outside of faith in something bigger than death? Just a thought. If you have any thoughts on that question, don't hesitate to answer I genuinely am curious.

I just praise the Lord for the life Jen led. She was a remarkable woman. Her mom is a remarkable woman. Her dad is an amazing man. But its because of who they are, not what they are. I have learned SO much from them. If you think about it, please pray for this family. The parents are just not going to know what to do with themselves with out caring for Jen. It has literally been their life for 38 years. Pray for nearness of the Lord as they walk through this.

Above is a pic I have already posted of me and jen when I visited her a few weeks ago. I also posted a pic of Jen and that my mom took last week. Jen had been asking my mom to take her to lunch for weeks. So last week they loaded her up and went. Jen wanted Logans Roadhouse. She LOVES their chicken tenders and sweet potato fries and above is a picture of her when her food was delivered. She was super excited. So amazing that my mom had that time with her on thursday.

I will blog about food and diet stuff later, but needed to make this one just about Jen and Jesus. It's fun to think about them together-a motley crew indeed!