 |
| My husband made the wooden stand and Love Truth is engraved at the top of stone |
“Beware lest anyone cheat you through
philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to
the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him
dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”
—Colossians 2:8,9
NKJV
Going through
Joshua’s personal things, I found his cigar box.
Memories flooded
to the day Joshua, his dad, and I went to town so Joshua could shop at a cigar
store. He bought one cigar, and the clerk gave him an empty cigar box.
Now, my hand
trembled as I lifted the lid. Fingers brushed the top layer of objects, all of
them precious and significant to Joshua. I dug through it. A wadded paper sat
buried on the bottom. My heart quickened. Did I find words to us from him? In
bold print Joshua had written “LOVE TRUTH.”
Love truth?
My questions
battered me with a frenzy. What does this mean? Where did he get this? Why did
he crumple it in his fist? Why did he keep it with his prized possessions? His
favorite box? Was it for me, his mother, to find?
I looked in
Joshua’s Bible, the one he handed me before he shot himself. I found a sticky
note where he marked Colossians 2:8.
Oh, my Lord, I’m
on a quest to live out Love Truth. Teach me better Your Word. Grow me spiritually
to please and honor You. In Jesus’s holy name, I ask. Amen.
A Mother’s
Memories
Joshua loved
high-school debate team.
He had always
enjoyed a good argument, searching out other people’s ideas to disregard or
include them as his own. Debates lit a flame of excitement under Joshua and
pushed him to search for truth. Since finding Joshua’s “Love Truth” note, I’ve
determined to love truth and to embrace it, seeking God’s Scriptures daily. I
will keep watch and ask God’s forgiveness for when I believe a lie.
Lies and truth
cannot reside in the same heart.
This is what I
believe about the “Love Truth” note: Joshua jotted down the words after reading
Colossians 2:8, but later crumbled it in self-disgust.
As Joshua wrote
in the good-bye letter to me, he regretted some choices he had made in reckless
moments of his youth. He saw himself as a failure, with no hope left. He blamed
himself and felt there was no forgiveness.
He believed
Satan’s lies.
On Joshua’s
gravestone, we asked the carver to inscribe “LOVE TRUTH.”
Dear Father, how can it be? How could this
death have happened? To our son? Though I weep and cry out, I know You love me
more than I even love myself. In Jesus’s holy name. Amen.
Reader Journal
~Your Mother Memories~
~Your Prayer of Praise~
~A Scripture of Encouragement~
No comments:
Post a Comment