The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

Happiness depends on favorable circumstances. Joy is so very different. Karen wrote about this, and I am happy to share her thoughts.

Those who know and love my Karen will smile when I mention that she was not a lady with lots of words. So in the upcoming features of “Karen’s Notes,” my introductions and observations will be as brief as I can make them. You’ll see this beginning next week.

Karen invested time thinking through the characteristics of God. She was especially focused on His greatness. Let me share with you a little of what Psalm 145 meant to her.

Karen was reading Luke 17:11-19. It is the account of the ten lepers who were healed. The one leper who returned to the Lord Jesus and glorified God was of particular interest to her. It was Karen’s intention never to lose her sense of gratitude to the Lord because of Who He is and what He was doing.

“Karen’s Notes!
Insights from a Glory-Bound Lady”

I met Karen in the third grade. We grew up together. When we began dating in our senior year of high school, I soon knew that this was the young lady I wanted to marry and with whom I wanted to grow old. During the forty-six years that we were married, I watched her memorizing and applying God’s promises to her life. She loved the changing seasons and often thought of a promise or two from the Lord that she would claim in that particular season.

Then cancer suddenly and dramatically struck our lives. Many circumstances changed quickly; however, her trust in the Lord’s promises did not. I am honored to share what she wrote about being content and trusting Him. I recently found her handwritten note about Hebrews 13:5 and hope that it will encourage and bless you or someone that you know.

“Karen’s Notes!
Insights from a Glory-Bound Lady”

Karen and I were married for forty-six years. She blessed my life in many ways. Karen knew the Lord in a personal, saving way and greatly loved Him. She also loved her family very much. For those who knew her, you will remember that Karen was a lady of few words. She didn’t talk a lot and writing was even less. But when she communicated, it was worth your while to stop and listen.

Karen went Home to be with the Lord on April 4, 2017 after battling cancer for a little over two years. In the months since her Homegoing, I have been reading her Bible and thinking about some of the notes that she wrote either in the margin or in a notebook that she kept with her study Bible. Some of the entries are far too personal to ever share publicly. I know her well enough to know what notes can be shared and must be shared. You might not be facing something as dramatic as a terminal illness, but surely there are hard situations that you or a loved one is facing.