Till We Meet Again

Today, I went to a memorial service for a very good Christian man.  He loved the Lord with all his heart, and he and his wife, have given so much to others in serving their Lord and Savior with all their hearts.  His name was Jake Miller, and his wife June depended on him so very much.  Someone mentioned that you couldn't say "Jake without saying June, too."  That is how closely they worked together and served with such joyful hearts.

I lost another dear friend this week, in my accountant Robert Miller.  He and his wife have been helping us with the shop accounting ever since we have had the business.  His wife Joan, helped him so much in his business, and kept him on track.  My heart was heavy, as I know Bob just kept going forward, even when he should have stopped.  He really worked until the day he died. He loved doing what he did, so very much.  He personally called me, two weeks ago, and told me he wanted to do our books, one last time.  I told him he didn't have to do that, but he said, "Yes, I want to do that for you."  His dear wife, called me Tuesday, and said, "she just wanted me to know they were doing all they could, to get the books done for me, and they wanted to do that for us."  How do you repay a kindness such as that?  How precious is their friendship, that in the midst of their pain, they cared so much for us?  I am humbled by such devotion to duty.  Such kindness in broken hearts.

I met June and Jake after going to some meetings, and they shared about their ministry to the people at the local rest home (it is no longer there).  I went a few times, to be there, as I have a heart for this type of ministry, too.  At the time, both Roy and Jolynn were pretty young, so they had to come along with me.  The people there loved seeing young children, and they would always want to talk with us afterwards.  June and Jake poured out so much love upon these precious people.  They were patient, and kind.  They helped me so much and they, too, enjoyed having the kids there to be a part of these services.  I always felt bad, when I could no longer keep going, but we had moved and it was harder to co ordinate the time factor.  I always prayed for their ministry, because it is so very important.  They continued going to the rest home in San Andreas,  when the local one shut down, due to the highway bypass going up.

But do you know how June remembered me today?  By our business.  She was so touched by how we had taken care of them the two times we worked on their vehicles, and when she saw me, her face lit up, and she said, "I know you, you're from Gold Rush, and you took care of our vehicles for us those two times we needed them fixed. You know when the last time when the car was so crushed.  Thank you so much for coming today."  I about cried.  I had thought she'd remember the times I had been with them with the rest home ministry, but instead, she remembered us from our business.  I took that in such a positive light.  You see, a friend shared a passage of Scripture with me today, from her Bible reading, that I had thought of a while back.  It is in Colossians 3:23 & 24 "Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men.  Knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward.  [The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ (the Messiah)."  What a privilege to know that in doing our work, we had shown Christ shining through.  Thank you, June, for that precious compliment.

So, I remember these two men, men who shared the same last name, but as far as I know, were no relation to each other.  Men, who did their best to be upstanding and righteous in how they did their work.  Men, who left a legacy behind them, of integrity and love.  I find it interesting that the heritage of their names, means that at some point in time, someone in their family was a miller.  That is someone who ground up the grains people needed to live on.  They gave them their "daily bread" so to speak.

I want to live my life in such a way, that the "daily bread" that I give to others will be Life giving bread.  Just like my friend shared with me, the Life giving Bread of God's Word today.  I want others to be lifted up and encouraged to find hope and healing, life and abundance through the words that I speak.  I want those words to be Life giving from God's throne of grace.  I pray that each of you, want to live your lives the same way.  Giving something good to others, so that in some way, each of us will have a part in touching a hurting world with the Life of Christ.  Our lives don't end at death, it is just the beginning of eternity.  Where we end up is our choice.  How we live our lives now, does count for something.  What you choose to do, does matter.  You touch someone's life every single day.  Your choices affect others, either for good or for ill.  Two little girls made the difference in the life of the woman, who Roe vs Wade was about.  They brought the light of Christ to her hurting heart.  It changed her.  They didn't know who she was.  They just wanted to love her, like Christ loved them.  "Love covers a multitude of sin."  God's love covered the multitude of sin we on this earth had brought forth.  Let us cover each other with the love of Christ.  I love you all.  Thank you for sharing these memories with me.  God bless you all.