Yesterday marked the 1 year anniversary of Jake's leaving this earth and joining our Lord and Savior in heaven.  It has been an incredibly hard year for me and my children.  I know that it is by God's grace, love and provision that we have faced each day and find ourselves here one year later.  I thank each and every one of you who has lifted us up in prayer.  I KNOW that those intercessory prayers have gotten us through.  Many, many days, I have not known what to pray for or what to say to God and I have trusted the Holy Spirit and other Christians to petition the Lord for me.  Thank you.
I can not speak for my children (though I feel like they feel the same way) but I'd like to share a few things I've realized over the past year (many I knew in my head but after losing Jake, all perspective has changed):    Life is incredibly unpredictable.  Life seems so unfair sometimes.  Life is short.  When you love someone deeply you never ever have enough time with them. Hold tight to your family.  Make every minute count.  Make those memories.  Cherish your family.  Let go of differences or disappointments.  LOVE.  HOPE.  TRUST.  CHERISH.
And in all of this, God is good and He is there even when you don't feel Him there...trust that because He is and He loves us more than anything.

I may never understand why God chose to take Jake,  especially when so many people were praying for God to heal him.  But I trust God...He knows all and sees all and I KNOW that He did what was best.  I trust that.  I may not understand it, but I trust it.

I knew how much Jake loved me but I realized something this morning when I was doing my devotion...Jake loved the Lord more.  And that is how it should be.  When Jake told me goodbye on the evening of January 7, 2021, he told me that he had spoken to the Lord and that He had his room ready for him and that he was ready to go.  He asked me to let him go with grace and peace.
Jake was ready to meet his maker knowing that he had fought the good fight, had remained faithful to the Lord and done all he was called to do here on earth.

I didn't really know where I was going with this when I started typing.  I mainly wanted to thank everyone who has prayed for me and my family.  I especially want to thank those who have stuck with me, even when it wasn't pretty...you listened, you provided for me, you accepted my yes or my no, you cried with me, you held me...you were there.  Thank you. 
This road has no ending...it curves and climbs and takes sharp declines but every step of the way I know the Lord will see me through.  

Remember Jake, say his name! 

I love and appreciate you all,

Connie