In Memory of My Brother

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There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,

The earth, and every common sight,

To me did seem

Apparell’d in celestrial light

The glory and the freshness of a dream

It is not now as it hath been of yore;

Turn wheresoe’er I may, by night or day

The things which I have seen I now can see no more

 

The rainbow comes and goes

And lovely is the rose

The moon doth with delight

Look round her when the heavens are bare;

Waters on a starry night

Are beautiful and fair,

The sunshine is a glorious birth

But yet I know, where’er I go

That there hath pass’d away a glory from the earth

 

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting

The Soul that rises with us, our life’s star,

Hath had elsewhere its setting,

And cometh from afar:

Not in entire forgetfulness

And not in utter nakedness

But trailing clouds of glory do we come

From God, who is our home

 

What though the radiance which was once so bright be now for ever taken from my sight

Though nothing can bring back the hour

Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower,

We will grieve not, rather find

Strength in what remains behind

In the primal sympathy

Which having been must ever be

In the soothing thoughts that spring

Out of human suffering

In the faith that looks through death,

 

The clouds that gather round the setting sun

Do take a sober coloring from an eye

That hath kept watch o’er man’s mortality;

Another race hath been, and other palms are won.

Thanks to the human heart by which we live,

Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears

To me the meanest flower that blows can give thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.

 

2 Corinthians 5 6-9  ‘So we are always of good courage.  We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord for we walk by faith, not by sight.  Yes we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the lord.

1 Corinthians 15: 51-54  Behold I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  So when the corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:  “Death is swallowed up in victory”

There are many reasons to be thankful and many reasons we are specifically thankful for the life of Steve.   We are also thankful for the blessing of our family which Steve was part of and although he physically won’t be with us the impact he had on us will continue and we will look forward with the belief we will be united again through the hope given through Jesus. 

Throughout the years Steve has been there with us; helping and supporting.   My first memory of Steve is riding with him to pick up my brother Rob from Concordia to help out mom and Dad during the middle of building the house.  I also remember weekly phone calls and each kid getting their moment with Steve; he always remembered what we talked about the previous week.  Thinking more about us and making me feel loved.  Later there were countless times of house painting like when he worked with me after getting laid off.  His worked helped me get through that time and pay my rent while also preparing to have Jackson.    All of these memories helped shape my life and each of us have similar stories of Steve and his impact on our lives.  These are the memories we will take with us and it is these memories that will shape what we are as a family until, by God’s grace, we are all together having risen from the dead.

My favorite book growing up was a River Runs through it.   I found the brotherly relationship aspects of the story to be amazingly true.  That has only became more evident through the death of Steve.  Each moment and experience with him created a change in me that only through a loss do we see the full impact on ourselves and those around us.  The quote from the end of the book that explains the title and how each thing we do affect each other and the remainder of our lives.  This is especially true with family. The quote:

‘The river was cut by the Worlds great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time.  On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops.  Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs’….Some of the words in our lives are the words and deeds of Steve.  The impact he has had on our family has been good.

I think each of us wants to have that ‘last word’ with Steve.  What we would tell him.  I would say thank you for the time you spent with me, thank you for your laugh, thank you for all of the crazy stories that made me laugh, thank you for always saying hello and listening to my kids as you listened to me when I was a kid, and I would tell him; I’m going to miss those things.   More important to me though; is the hope of seeing him again and for all the family to be together again in celebration of victory over sin and death.  Dad recommended I read Ecclesiastes 3.  It says in verse 11 “God has placed eternity in the hearts of man” During these times we all feel that, the hope for eternity.  That hope is there through Jesus with his victory over sin and death.  It is through Jesus where Steve can rise up.  It is through Jesus where we can rise up with him, and it is through Jesus that we can celebrate a victory over death and we can do that together.  Ephesians 4 says “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives” meaning that after he rose from the dead he opened up heaven and took souls with him and they are with Jesus awaiting the final resurrection where 1 Corinthians 15 tells us we will gain a new spiritual body.  We will all have a spiritual body and be with Jesus where revelations 21:4 tells us “he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. 

 

Prayer:  Father, thank you for giving us hope that we will see Steve raised up in perfection.  I pray that you give us all strength and fill us with excitement for a glorious reunion where Steve and all our family celebrate your glorious victory. Thank you for the gift of Steve’s life with us.  We thank you for the gift of Steve’s son Eric and grandchildren.  We ask for your blessing upon them.  We thank you for the gift of all our family and what a blessing of love each of us are to each other.  We thank for all those who have gone before us and ask for the blessing of a giant family party in the new earth.  We know lord that the belief we have of forever life is through you, we pray for the salvation of Steve and each person here and beyond.  With that we commit Steve into your arms. In the name of Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.   Amen.