The stuff that matters

                                           


I have spent several days going through my husband's stuff.  He used to get on to me because I
had too much stuff.  I must say that I think he had more stuff than I have.   Most of my stuff can probably be thrown away.  Most of Richard's stuff was stuff that mattered very much to him.

Some of the stuff I found was a brief case full of letters, love notes and cards from me.  I found a folder with pictures, notes and achievements that belonged to the kids.  There were his hats, boots,  belts and momentos from vacations.  There was a sack full of maps that he used to plan those trips.  There were cards from the 3rd grade Sunday School from several different years.
There were plaques and awards from jobs where he had worked that dated back to his teenage years.  I found several Bibles.  Some of the Bibles were from family members that had passed on, several of them were his that dated back to when he was a child.

All the stuff that he had packed and stored in a very neat order mattered to him but most of all his family mattered.  There was a time when he tried to keep us all packed and in a neat order.  He eventually figured out that it wasn't going to happen and loved us just like we were,  We were the stuff that mattered to him more than anything except for his Savior!

I do miss my husband but I know he is healed, has no more pain and no more sorrow.  He knows that he will see his family again but that the stuff that he had on earth doesn't matter anymore!  He is with his Savior!

What about you?  What stuff matters to you?

John 5:2 (NIV)

24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

Joseph the husband of Mary

I meant to write this back in December but I kept getting sidetracked.  If you recall I was taking my time looking at the linage of Jesus.  This is a verse that I stopped on and spent time thinking and pondering the verse and what it might mean.

Matthew 1:16

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary,and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.


Now just so you know, I don't ever presume to be an authority on what a verse actually might mean but sometimes a thought pops in my mind that almost makes sense and sometimes I will decide or am lead to share that with you.  



Joseph, the husband of Mary, who was the mother of Jesus doesn't get mentioned much after Jesus reached a certain age but that doesn't mean  that Joseph was not a key person in the life of Jesus.  Joseph accepted Jesus and treated Him as his own. Now he only did this after an angel appeared to him in a dream.

Matthew 1:20-21

New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,^[a] because he will save his people from their sins.”


Once that the angel appeared to Joseph he accepted and protected Jesus.  That sounds like adoption to me! How amazing that Jesus was basically adopted into an earthly family when He is the One that prepared the way for a heavenly adoption.  

Romans 8:14-16

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.^[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,^[b] Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
  
Do you need to be adopted by God or are you waiting on the angel??
Turn to Jesus!  He is the key Person!

John 3:16-17

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.