Celebration, remembrance and learning...

Saturday was Nathan's funeral/celebration of his earthly life. (I started writing this then, but I'm just now finishing/posting)

Wow. It was hard (meaning, I cried a lot) but it was also good. Nathan was a Christian and knew exactly where he would be going when he left this earth. He was not afraid of death and knew he would be with Jesus soon. That is a very wonderful and happy thought. It's sad though, to think of his family here without him...to think of parents burying their little boy. There is also peace, as he will not continue to suffer through cancer treatments, procedures, sickness and pain. He is happier now than any of us could even imagine.

I have known Nathan's family for a while now (14 years or so) and have watched them through lots of transitions. It's true about 'who you are under pressure is who you are.' This family is gold. They have walked this difficult path with such faith, love and honesty. At every turn they have worked hard to bring glory to God (whether they got good news or bad). They kept loving God and loving His people even through such a hard time.

What has grabbed me the most about this precious family is their complete selflessness and their uninhibited desire to follow God-no. matter. what. There is just so much to say about this family...and so much to learn from them. They have truly inspired me. It's made me really step back and take a look at my/our life. I don't want to be a person who is stuck on myself or who follows God only when it feels good or brings happiness. Of course, I don't try to be selfish...but I guess I need to try harder to be the opposite. I'm really blessed to have great people in my life to learn from.