Our lives have been turned upside down when we received the phone call that TJ had passed away. He was an adventurer. He loved traveling and exploring new places. He loved his car, his motorcycles and his jeep. Living out west, he traveled and visited the states around him, as well as the south. He documented through his pictures the places he visited and experienced.
There is a huge hole that has been left in our life now, yet only through the One, True, Living God, we know where our son is! We have the confidence in knowing he is in heaven, united with a brother he never met, united with his son he never met, as well as reunited with his uncle, grandparents, friends and relatives. We are clinging day by day to God’s promises that God never leaves us nor forgets us! He is close to the broken hearted, He is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in time of trouble! We feel the prayers of so many that we feel we are actually being carried through each day.
Our lives have changed forever, but we are grateful! We are grateful that even though there are is no promise of a long life here on earth, TJ was in our lives for 34 years! We saw him grow up from a baby, through all the stages of boyhood to adulthood. And for that we are grateful. That is denied by so many. We are fortunate to know how he had impacted so many others’ lives, helping them in so many ways and being humble about it and really not sharing what he has done for others.
God’s plans are certainly not our plans. His ways are much higher, and though we don’t understand we trust in Him. He knows are thoughts, actions, and knows the future. We will one day know why, whether it’s this side of heaven or not, we will have the full understanding and will only praise Him for doing the very best for TJ. God’s love is perfect and His love is greater than our’s. As parents, our hearts are broken, but so is God’s knowing we are hurting, and His love is even greater for TJ than our love for him can ever be; even though we love him with our whole being.
Jeremiah 29:11 “‘For I know the plans I have for you’, declares the Lord. ‘Plans that prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.'”
Proverbs 3:5-6 We “Trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not unto our own understanding. In all our ways we acknowledge Him, and He directs our paths.”
Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in time of trouble.”
Nehemiah 8:10 “The joy of the Lord is my strength.’
Psalm 28:7 “The Lord is my strength and shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him.”
Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear, for I (God) am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 40:31 “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”
A book was gifted to us, and now we highly recommend reading, “Imagine Heaven” by John Burke.