A wife's funeral eulogy

Twelve years ago Josh and I chose some of these same favorite songs to sing to one another at our wedding: “In Christ Alone”and “Blessed be the Name of the Lord”. A somewhat odd choice for a wedding. We chose these songs because of their truth for us both.  And yet, even as we contemplated choosing those many years ago, we discussed, ‘are we really picking these songs?’. I mean really it was a wedding and while we were committing to bless the Lord when the streams of abundance flow and in a land of plenty which is easy to do; we were also promising to bless God’s name even on the road marked with suffering and when the darkness closes in.  We had many discussions before and after choosing these songs about the hard truth asked of us- committing to praise God, committing to trust God, committing to rest in God when our lives were filled with darkness, storms, suffering, and fear. And yet each time at church these songs were sang we’d hold hands and commit yet again to these very things. Josh loved the Lord so much. He was a quiet man of faith that demonstrated his trust in God through his actions, the way he treated his children and me. Oh what a servant he was. Do you know this man of God made lunches every day for his children at 3am, has been my personal chauffeur since the day he first asked to borrow my car for a ride and I said ‘yes, as long as you promise to drive’; who would eagerly volunteer to host and cook for countless people because he loved to serve.  Sonow as we have lost our father, and my beloved, we choose, his children and I, who each night this week all piled in a king bed at my parent’s have sang through tear soaked pillows the truth that though our beloved was taken away, our heart will choose to say Lord, blessed be Your Name. We cling to the promises In Christ Alone, that Sin’s curse has lost its grip on Josh as he was bought with the precious blood of Christ . Josh stands in victory with Christ. He is redeemed and called home. Oh the sweet,sweet crushing sorrow and yet comfort that comes with that. We weren't ready but Josh is called home to heaven. We will see him again some day. And as we wrote on his headstone, “The Steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases. Until We Meet Again.” And so we choose to say, “Blessed be the Name of the Lord”. 

So dear, dear family and friends I beseech you to pray for my children and I not just these forever long and yet short few days, but for the months and years to come when the reality of never having another hug, never holding hands again, and never hearing his deep laugh again sets in. Pray for comfort, for provision, for shelter in the wings of the Most High God. Pray when the darkness closes in each night suffocating us with sorrow and sleepless nights, that we continue to cling to our Lord, trusting Him even as our world has fallen apart. Pray for my dear sweet children that they continue to daily commit to loving and trusting God for all the days of their lives even as they now have faith that leaves me in awe and is in so many ways a testament to the kind of father Josh was. Pray for his parents and family who should never lose a son and brother so young that they would have comfort and cling to God in the midst. Pray for us dear friends and family, for we are weak but God our Savior is strong.