Dear Family and Friends of the Blog:

It’s been several days now since the weekend of Carlin’s graveside service and his Memorial Service.  How amazing it all was.  I wish you all could have been there!  Friday dawned a glorious, fresh sunny day, and the grave site was beautiful with blooming cherry trees, and a lovely group of special friends.  God was so good. 

 

Saturday’s service was another touch from God.  Awesome God.  So many friends came to mourn and celebrate with us, and I thought of “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.”

 

Today was a big day, as they all seem to be now for me.  There is much to do.  I was in the city tending to some details, forms, things that need to be done.  Then I stopped to see dear George and Kay who have the gift of crying with me!  Not everyone has so tender a gift.

 

And then, just now, I returned from a trip to the Slavic Gospel Church in Bellingham where I took Carlin’s suits.  For days it seemed the message to me was to give away carefully Carlin’s beautiful suits, which had graced the back of such a beautiful man for ministry in the pulpit, and more recently, the beautiful suit he had worn as he conducted the marriage ceremony for our dear Jodie and Matt, December 27. 

 

I wanted to pray those suits onto the backs of some godly pastors somewhere, and now Pastor Ilyn promises they will go to pastors in the Ukraine.  Only God knows for sure where they will indeed end up, but I pray it will be with blessing.  It was such a hard thing to do, this releasing what has been my Carlin’s into other hands.  One of Carlin’s sayings, “It’s only stuff” went through my head.  Truly.  But God can use “stuff” for extra blessing, too.

 

Tomorrow I will do the Carlinisms list so many have been asking for.

 

Blessings on you all.  Thank you for praying. 

 

“Does Jesus care when my heart is pained too deeply for mirth and song. . .Does Jesus care when I’ve said goodbye to the dearest on earth to me, And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks, Is it aught to Him? Does He see? 

 

O yes, He cares, I know He cares, His heart is touched by my grief, when the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Saviour cares.”