"I'll Love You Forever" 9-24-07

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are faithful and true. I trust You and love You. ... "Then Joseph said to his brothers, 'I am about to die; but God will surely come to you, and bring you up out of this land to the land that He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.' So Joseph made the Israelites swear, saying, 'When God comes to you, you shall carry up my bones from here' " (Genesis 50:24-25). As Joseph neared his final moments of life, his thoughts were on You and Your promises to the generations to come. He loved You and trusted You, knowing future generations would see Your promises fulfilled in measures he could only trust to come to pass by faith. And he just wanted his bones to be carried home to that place where the promises of Your Word would be faithfully fulfilled. These final days for my grandmother, "Nanny," have been like that. She had an amazing burst of clarity, energy, and joy yesterday, as we prepared her to come home from the hospital. Her doctor brought his little girl into the room to see this woman of faith with such a remarkable spirit of peace and courage in the face of death. Though Nanny's simple words of blessing to this little girl were nothing religious or formal, they were simple words of blessing from one generation to the next nonetheless. Then I loaded her up and carried her home. We wheeled her by her cherished flowers and set her in her favorite chair next the wall where her collection of crosses hang, reminding her and us of the sacrifice of love for the generations to come. "Oh, my beautiful flowers! Oh, my beautiful crosses!" -- It was worth it all to hear her heart sing with joy of being able to come home, if even for a short while, all in trusting surrender to Your perfect timing and will. As I see her resting peacefully just before the dawn of yet another day here in her home where I've carried her bones, I remember a child's story I used to read to my children with a measure of the love she's given me: I'll Love You Forever by Robert Munsch A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang: I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living my baby you'll be. The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, "This kid is driving me CRAZY!" But at night time, when that two-year-old was quiet, she opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor, looked up over the side of his bed; and if he was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang: I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living my baby you'll be. The little boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was nine years old. And he never wanted to come in for dinner, he never wanted to take a bath, and when grandma visited he always said bad words. Sometimes his mother wanted to sell him to the zoo! But at night time, when he was asleep, the mother quietly opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep, she picked up that nine-year-old boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang: I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living my baby you'll be. The boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a teenager. He had strange friends and he wore strange clothes and he listened to strange music. Sometimes the mother felt like she was in a zoo! But at night time, when that teenager was asleep, the mother opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep she picked up that great big boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang: I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living my baby you'll be. That teenager grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a house across town. But sometimes on dark nights the mother got into her car and drove across town. If all the lights in her son's house were out, she opened his bedroom window, crawled across the floor, and looked up over the side of his bed. If that great big man was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang: I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living my baby you'll be. Well, that mother, she got older. She got older and older and older. One day she called up her son and said, "You'd better come see me because I'm very old and sick." So her son came to see her. When he came in the door she tried to sing the song. She sang: I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always... But she couldn't finish because she was too old and sick. The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song: I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living my Mommy you'll be. When the son came home that night, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the room where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he sang: I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living my baby you'll be. Thank You, Lord, for the promises of Your love and allowing us to see them fulfilled in our lives. And thank You for allowing us the gift and joy of passing on the promises of Your love to the generations to come. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe, please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God " 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 www.messiah-ministries.org Daily Archives: www.morningbymorning.injesus.com Purchase our DVDs and CDs of Ministry Resources Online: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org