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• JOURNAL 89

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• JOURNAL 88

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• JOURNAL 86

  10 May, 2016

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• JOURNAL 83

  14 April, 2016

  83

   Hello Sweetheart,

  This week marked our first anniversary of being separated by death. As I recall the words of the wedding vows include  “til death us do part”. There’s something stark about that phrase. Something inevitable.

  So, did I do anything special? Well, we always did something for our wedding anniversary so yesterday I did two things that were special.

  First, Keith drove me up to Bathurst so we could spend some “alone time” at your memorial. I had taken some of the more recent Letters to Bev with a view to reading them out loud.

  But the second special feature is that I finished writing our book, “Our Journey Through The Valley”. That such a goal should be reached on such a day as this I think is significant.

  I hope that it will be in the hands of the editor by the end of the month. I’m not sure how long after that before the finished product is available but watch this space.

  There were a number of aspects that stood out as I collated the material but the one I think featured most dominantly is best seen against the backdrop of a recurring question. “Why did Bev have to suffer as she did?” or words to that effect. I hadn’t realised how many times that question was asked until I gathered many of the extracts.

  There was in your suffering a powerful testimony or example of that “grace for each day”. There is no way for us to accurately number how many people whose lives will never be the same again because they came under the influence of what God revealed to them through you in the context of your suffering.

  For my part, I think we Christians have a very poor ‘theology of suffering’. Our popular view is if we are good, good things will happen to us. Somehow we have adopted the world’s view of suffering which makes no allowance for what we might call “redemptive suffering”.  That’s a huge subject, well beyond this letter.

  What I want you to know is that many, many people have been touched by your example and I believe that many, many more will be touched as they read the book.

  As I sat by your memorial yesterday I was moved by this thought: This is our first anniversary of us being separated by death. But it also means that we are one year closer to that great event when the dead in Christ shall rise and we who are alive and remain will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord!!

  But until then,

  You remain the love of my life,

  Mike