Today’s ornaments are all handmade by my aunt Susy. An abundantly creative lady. She has stiff with me from the beginning. I love her spirit, her sassyness, & her strength. Each ornament in this collection holds special memories. She is the one that has been there for every valley and every triumph. If I were to write down every story, we would need to publish a novel. We walked the hardest journey when my uncle passed almost 10 years ago. There will always be losses in our lives, this one wounded us all deeply. Reading one day after his passing, I had been crying out. The pain was so deep. These words sprang out and touched my heart: “thus says the Lord, the God of David, your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you.” These words, spoken to Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20:5, went straight to my heart. He reminds us each that He hears our prayers, He sees our tears, He will heal us. So powerful.
I long for the day that Isaiah spoke of: “In Jerusalem, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world. It will be a delicious banquet with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat. There he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign LORD will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The LORD has spoken! In that day the people will proclaim, “This is our God! We trusted in Him, and He saved us! This is the LORD, in whom we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation He brings!” Isaiah 25:6-9