souldare

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits. (Psalm 103:2 ESV)

As my family lined up to buy homemade ice cream at the Fourth of July festivities, I started crying. Just seeing the green and yellow John Deere engines churning the cream made me think of Les’ father who passed away this spring. (Les’ dad grew up on farm in Kansas and always loved sharing his heritage with us. I remember him taking our boys many years ago to see the John Deere steam engines bale hay.)

My seven year old niece consoled me by gesturing that I should wipe the tears from my eyes. They don’t like to see me sad.

Remembering a loved one can melt us into tears, whether they left us a few days ago or many years ago. My friend Jeanie shares some stories about her dad who passed away in 2009. His birthday was July 3rd. Click here to read her sweet remembrances.

Today, I watched a movie reccomemded by my friend, Sandy: Ragamuffin (A great tribute to God’s love and mercy around the story of Rich Mullins’ life.)

And while we are on the theme of remembering, I also thought this poem by Rachel Hackenberg helped give voice to the unmarked laments of the soul.

Whether it’s tears, a fond memory or a memorial marker each has its own purpose to help us remember and mourn. And in the mourning and memorializing, God comforts us.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and all that is within me,
    bless his holy name! (Psalm 103:1 ESV)

And if you can’t find the words to express your need, sing along with Rich Mullins…

Linking with Still Saturday.