Bittersweet

Last Friday while we visiting with our family at the cabin, I got an early morning call from my sister. I figured the news probably wasn't going to be good since the night before when she had texted me, the message was that our precious aunt, our deceased mother's only living sister, probably wasn't going to make it through the night. Aunt Clara had just celebrated her 103rd birthday on Labor Day of this year and was doing well at the time. She had gotten sick very quickly. Just as I had assumed, she told me the news of her passing. My first response was one of sadness, of course, which was mostly for her family.

When you have lived so long for the Lord, and you are 103, it's a little hard to be sad for too long when you know they are in the presence of Jesus. And her mother and father. And her brother and four sisters! Oh, what a happy reunion was going on in heaven that day! This photo as you can see was taken three years ago at her 100th Birthday party. Wasn't she just the cutest thing?

Although I was thoroughly enjoying the weekend with our son from Nashville and all of grands, there was a tinge of sadness that would creep in every now and then. I thought about Aunt Clara's children, all seven of them still living. I prayed that God would comfort them in their loss.

As we turned onto the road leading back to the cabin after our family outing, I saw something I hadn't seen in a very, very long time. A bittersweet vine had taken over a small tree that sat right beside the road. I have never seen any of it in the entire eleven years that we have had the cabin, plus we had just been there two weeks before and as always, I had been up and down the road several times taking photos. I had not seen it.

Out of curiosity, I was looking up some definitions of bittersweet and this is the first one I found.

The definition of bittersweet is a combination of both bitter and sweet, or an emotional feeling that is a mixture of both happy and sad.adjective.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.     Psalm 116:15

I won't even try to figure this out...I'm just going to accept it as a special blessing from my Father and be thankful for His almighty omnipotence and omnipresence.  I love it when He reminds me that His timing is perfect.

I'm sharing with:

http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/2013/10/praise-update-on-design-gives-back.html
http://www.create-with-joy.com/2013/10/inspire-me-monday-week-95.html
http://www.thebeautyinhisgrip.com/2013/10/sharing-his-beauty-linky_27.html
http://www.dwellings-theheartofyourhome.com/2013/10/amaze-me-monday-30.html
http://myfreshlybrewedlife.com/2013/10/weekend-brew-day-26-redeemed-free-printable.html
http://whatjoyismine.net/mondays-musings-84-fear/
http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2013/10/188th-inspire-me-tuesday.html
http://www.adelightsomelife.com/2013/10/a-return-to-lovelines.html
http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/2013/10/feast-or-famine.html
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2013/10/wow-us-wednesdays-142.html
http://jannolson.blogspot.com/2013/10/share-your-cup-thursday-79.html
http://www.deeprootsathome.com/encourage-one-another-wednesday-link-up-110/

http://www.impartinggrace.com/2013/10/grace-at-home-no-80.html