Shortly after we arrived in Hawaii to help search for our son, John Reece, my husband began talking about how we did not despair because we had two kinds of hope. You can read the whole story in our book, Aloha is Forever.
I described Hope #1 in my last post although there was one thing I left out. I forgot to mention that John was tenacious. He never gave up on anything so we knew that if there was any way he could get out of the Kohala Mountains, he would. We envisioned him dragging himself up the side of one of the steep cliffs inch by inch. We knew he would never give up and that fueled our hope.
As the month of December progressed and it became more and more apparent that we would not find John, Hope #2 began to take priority in our minds and hearts.
Those of you who claim not to believe in God will have to give me some leeway here. We do believe in God and in His ability to fulfill the promises He made in His Word, the Bible. And that was where our Hope #2 was anchored. We knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that if we didn't see our son again here on this earth, we would see him again and be with him in our Heavenly Father's presence for all eternity.
I Thessalonians 4:13-18 sums up this hope better than I could:
"But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep (died), lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."
So even though the prospect of never seeing John again here in this life was inconceivable, terrible, horrific, devastating and whatever other feelings you can imagine, we were comforted and sustained by our Father's promises.
We knew that John's relationship with God was solid. There was not even a shadow of a doubt about that. He had recognized he was a sinner when he was only 4 years old and he had asked Jesus to forgive him and live in him and through him at that early age and had confirmed his faith in Jesus over the course of his life.
So even though our faith was tested in the fiery furnace, our hope never wavered. That is the power of Hope #2.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Aloha is Forever - Hope #1
Aloha is Forever was originally titled "Where There is Hope." Shortly after our search for our son John Reece ended, we realized from the feedback we were getting from our emails that many people, even fellow Christians, didn't understand "hope."
In the midst of the most devastating situation we had ever faced, we always had hope. My husband liked to call it Hope #1 and Hope #2. I'll talk about Hope #1 in this post and Hope #2 in my next post.
Our son left on Thanksgiving Day 1999 to cross the Kohala Mountains on the northern tip of the Big Island of Hawaii. He calculated that he could do it in 4 days. However, he didn't return in time for work on Monday following the 4-day holiday.
Our Hope #1 that he would finish the hike successfully was based on his natural ability, his training, his good physical condition and his solid faith in Jesus Christ his personal Lord and Savior.
John had abundant natural ability. He was an outdoorsman, and a rugged, lover of adventure. He had grown up in the Amazon. When he was small we had taken him with us to Indian villages, on adventurous trips, on hikes and on river and camping expeditions. He had all the gear and much outdoor savvy.
While in college, he had taken a survival course. Admittedly the course was in winter survival, but the principles were still the same. He knew survival strategies and techniques.
He was in excellent physical condition. He had gone to Hawaii as a field biology intern with the USGS. After two months of hiking up on Mona Kea counting vegetation, he was as physically fit as he could be. He had also been taking every opportunity to hike around the island and to bike around it with his new mountain bike.
His faith in God was unwavering and had been since childhood. He had grown up believing that God cared about him, had a plan for his life and that he could impact the world as he lived his faith. He'd made a point of spending time reading and studying his Bible daily and meditating and communing in prayer with his Heavenly Father.
All of these factors contributed to our Hope #1 that John would come through his ordeal wiser and better prepared to face life.
But as the month of December progressed, Hope #1 began to diminish and Hope #2 began to replace it. To be continued...
In the midst of the most devastating situation we had ever faced, we always had hope. My husband liked to call it Hope #1 and Hope #2. I'll talk about Hope #1 in this post and Hope #2 in my next post.
Our son left on Thanksgiving Day 1999 to cross the Kohala Mountains on the northern tip of the Big Island of Hawaii. He calculated that he could do it in 4 days. However, he didn't return in time for work on Monday following the 4-day holiday.
Our Hope #1 that he would finish the hike successfully was based on his natural ability, his training, his good physical condition and his solid faith in Jesus Christ his personal Lord and Savior.
John had abundant natural ability. He was an outdoorsman, and a rugged, lover of adventure. He had grown up in the Amazon. When he was small we had taken him with us to Indian villages, on adventurous trips, on hikes and on river and camping expeditions. He had all the gear and much outdoor savvy.
While in college, he had taken a survival course. Admittedly the course was in winter survival, but the principles were still the same. He knew survival strategies and techniques.
He was in excellent physical condition. He had gone to Hawaii as a field biology intern with the USGS. After two months of hiking up on Mona Kea counting vegetation, he was as physically fit as he could be. He had also been taking every opportunity to hike around the island and to bike around it with his new mountain bike.
His faith in God was unwavering and had been since childhood. He had grown up believing that God cared about him, had a plan for his life and that he could impact the world as he lived his faith. He'd made a point of spending time reading and studying his Bible daily and meditating and communing in prayer with his Heavenly Father.
All of these factors contributed to our Hope #1 that John would come through his ordeal wiser and better prepared to face life.
But as the month of December progressed, Hope #1 began to diminish and Hope #2 began to replace it. To be continued...
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Reading the Classics
When I was in high school, one day my English teacher handed out a reading list for those who were headed for college. From that day on every book I read HAD to be on that list. Later I acquired 2 more lists for college bound students. Then every book I read HAD to be on at least 2 lists and if it was on all three, all the better.
So I read the classics, and read and read. No wonder my children and now my grandson love to read.
Just curious whether anyone else restricted their literary menu in a similar fashion. Well?
So I read the classics, and read and read. No wonder my children and now my grandson love to read.
Just curious whether anyone else restricted their literary menu in a similar fashion. Well?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Today Was a Drag
Today was a drag...but a necessary one. Our dear friend and lifelong encourager called last night to say he was coming to help us get ready for income tax time. THAT is a friend!
So today was spent sorting, organizing, spreadsheeting (I just made up that word :) and generally getting ready for income tax time. He did have an ulterior motive; he needed to figure out whether our organization owed any taxes before the end of January since he is the treasurer.
So although it was a drag, we accomplished almost all that needed to be done - and all in one day. That was and is an amazing miracle.
Need more days to be a drag like today was.
So today was spent sorting, organizing, spreadsheeting (I just made up that word :) and generally getting ready for income tax time. He did have an ulterior motive; he needed to figure out whether our organization owed any taxes before the end of January since he is the treasurer.
So although it was a drag, we accomplished almost all that needed to be done - and all in one day. That was and is an amazing miracle.
Need more days to be a drag like today was.
Monday, January 19, 2009
My Grandson's Favorite Book
My little 2 year old grandson chose one of the most unlikely books as his favorite. I don't remember the title but it's about Teddy Ruxpin and Grubby picking strawberries. Then the little furry fobs come along complaining about losing their color and one of the other characters, (I don't remember his name, although I should after reading it so many times) saves the day by removing the big rock from Rainbow Falls and restoring the waterfall that also restores the colors to the fobs.
To me it had several faults:
1) The names were ridiculous sounding and very hard to pronounce.
2) The writing style was horrendous with absolutely nothing to make the storyline flow.
3) The story itself wasn't fun and to my mind, not even a bit interesting.
But my grandson asks me to read it to him over and over. When he was a little younger he would grab the page like he was grabbing the strawberries and pop them in his mouth saying, "Yum, yum." Now he won't touch a strawberry with a ten foot pole. Nothing to do with the book, I'm sure.
The writer in me totally rebels at such a poorly written book. And the English major in me doubly rebels. What could be the fascination in such a book? Anyone have any ideas?
To me it had several faults:
1) The names were ridiculous sounding and very hard to pronounce.
2) The writing style was horrendous with absolutely nothing to make the storyline flow.
3) The story itself wasn't fun and to my mind, not even a bit interesting.
But my grandson asks me to read it to him over and over. When he was a little younger he would grab the page like he was grabbing the strawberries and pop them in his mouth saying, "Yum, yum." Now he won't touch a strawberry with a ten foot pole. Nothing to do with the book, I'm sure.
The writer in me totally rebels at such a poorly written book. And the English major in me doubly rebels. What could be the fascination in such a book? Anyone have any ideas?
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