Our Future Hope

I've recently been pondering this Truth ~

Our future hope is Austin's present joy.

What an amazing thought ~
How much we have to look forward to!
May we have the grace to patiently persevere.

God is always Good.

His ways are always best.

He is sufficient in all things.

It is a precious blessing to belong to Him!

With Love,
Camille

**Image courtesy of my little 'Em ~ 
Thank you my love!  XO

Always There

Five months ago, today, the Lord called
our Precious Austin Home to Heaven.
We think of him daily.  His absence is felt.
He is missed in the little things of life,
and in the not so little things.  Painfully so.

There are tears.  Every. Single. Day.

The reality of life without our Austin
is sinking in.  It's always there.  Always with us.
We will carry it with us until the day we die.
It's part of who we are.  Who we've become.

We feel it.  Keenly.  And, it hurts.
So very, very much!

 ~ Austin in Fall 2009 ~

However, Austin is not hurting.  He is not sad.
He does not cry.  He is happy and complete.
He is praising the Lord without hindrance.
He does not have to battle the world,
the flesh and the evil one any longer.

He has been freed from his body of death.

One day, that body will rise in perfection.
It will be reunited with his soul.
One day, that will be true for us, as well.
What a precious future we have if we are the Lord's!

Our hearts are fixed more and more on Heaven.
Less and less on this world.
And, our Precious Saviour is with us in this journey.
He is Faithful.  He is Good.  He does all things well.
His Word is a comfort to our hearts.
His Truth is what keeps us from despair.

So, we walk this day with Him.
Each step.  Moment by moment.  Looking to Him.
It's the only way forward.  There is no other option.
It's a battle to keep our eyes focused.
A battle to keep our hearts set on what's True.
It's what we must do.

By His grace.  In His strength.  For His glory.
May we always be found giving Him praise.
He alone is worthy.

Many Blessings,
Camille

Time Stands Still

Our Austin is outside of time.

For now, we live within it.

That means that Calvin, Fraser and Emma

will catch up to their big brother in age.

If the Lord allows, they will pass him.

In this way ~ Time stands still.

It's a strange thing, really.
I never thought I would live longer than any of our children.
I thought they would all outlive me.
However, that was not to be.

Our desire for each of our children is that they
would love and serve and follow the Lord all their days.
And that they would go to live with Him in Heaven for all eternity.
I never expected that any would be called Home first.

But, one has.
Our Austin has gone before us.

~ Calvin, Fraser, Austin, and Emma in 2004 ~

Our destiny is the same.
Not for anything good in us.
But, because of the goodness of our Saviour.
He is perfect.  He lived perfectly.
He died to pay the penalty for the sins of His people.
That each one might be made acceptable with God.
So that one day we might go live with Him for all eternity.

What an incredible thought!

May the peace that comes from these truths be yours.
May you know without any doubt where you will spend eternity.
If you are not sure where that will be,
Please seek the Lord while He may be found.

"...behold, now is the day of salvation." 
~ I Corinthians 6:2b ~

"...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved..." 
~ Acts 16:31 ~

"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me;
and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
~ John 6:37 ~

Many Blessings,
Camille

The Harried Here and Now

It's easy to do.  I admit it.

Easy to get caught up in the here and now.

Easy to forget that this is not our Home.

The Lord is gracious to send us trials to wean us 

little by little from this world.
To cause us to cling to Him more closely.
And rely on Him more deeply.

To make us long for Heaven more.

"...having lost sight of the "sweet by and by", too many Christians

busy themselves with the harried here and now,

and they themselves are consumed by consumable things."

"Because the church doesn't really have heaven on its mind,

Christians tend to be self-indulgent, self-centered, weak and materialistic.

Our present comforts consume too much of our thoughts, and it we're not careful, 

we end up entertaining wrong fantasies about heaven --

or thinking very little of heaven at all.

No Christian should ever fall into that trap."

Quoted from "The Glory of Heaven" by John MacArthur, page 65.

We are reading as much as we can on Heaven these days.
Since our precious Austin was called Home ~
 we find ourselves wanting to know more about where he is.
We are seeking to be careful to choose books from reliable sources, of course.
There has been much written on Heaven that is not Biblical at all.
The Bible must be our basis for formulating ideas about the eternal.

This book, among others, has been a great encouragement to our hearts.
Truly, if we are the Lord's, then Heaven is our Home.  
We are just sojourning here as long as our Lord deems best.
For as long as He desires to use us here.

Until He calls us there.

How precious it is to rest in His perfect plan.
How precious to know that our times really are in His hands.
May we live for His glory each and every day.
May we be used to promote His Kingdom and serve Him.

By His grace and in His strength.
Moment by moment.  Day by day.
As long as He gives us breath.

With love,
Camille

**Photo in this post courtesy of our Calvin ~
Thank you my love!  XO

Forever Altered

The new me is here to stay.

The new me is living without part of the old me.

Part of me died when Austin did.

I will never again be who I was before Austin

went Home to Heaven.  Never again.

I'm forever altered.

It's not a bad thing, though.
This new me is more weaned from this world.
My eternal perspective has been sharpened.
I long for Heaven more.  I love the Lord more.

I'm dead to me more.

Austin is not the same, either.
He is perfect and free from his body of death.
One day, I will be too.  One day.

Until then, I must live and follow and serve.
I must put aside the things that weigh me down.
I must abandon all my hopes and dreams to my Saviour.
His ways.  His purposes.  His plans.

All for Him.  Surrendered.
By His grace.  For His glory.  Alone.

With Love,
Camille

**Photo courtesy of our friend Rick ~
Thank you so very much!  

Comforting Words

Our precious Auntie Mary gave me a lovely little book

on one of her recent visits to Canada.

I put it into my purse thinking I would read 
snippets of it here and there.

It's full of short quotes from letters which 
Samuel Rutherford wrote nearly 400 years ago.

Recently, I took it out of my purse so I could take it along
on a day trip to visit my friend on the Island.
The trip required over three hours on the ferry ~ lots of time for reading.

I found it to be full of rich nuggets

that ministered to my grieving Mama heart.

Such encouragement, comfort and truth

can be discovered within its pages.  It's precious.

I am sharing a few lines from this little book here today.

May these words be used to encourage your heart as they have mine.

"They are not lost to you that are laid up in Christ's treasury in Heaven.
At the resurrection ye shall meet with them: 
there they are, sent before, but not sent away.
Your Lord loveth you, who is homely to take and give,
borrow and lend."

~ Calvin, Austin and Fraser Circa 2002 ~

"She is not sent away, but only sent before,
like unto a star, which going out of your sight, doth not die and vanish,
but shineth in another hemisphere:
ye see her not, yet she doth shine in another country."

"The child hath but changed a bed in the garden,
and is planted up higher, nearer the sun,
where he shall thrive better than in this out-field moor-ground."

Comforting words?  Absolutely.

Many Blessings,
Camille

**All quotes in this post are taken from Samuel Rutherford's

"The Loveliness of Christ" ~ a rare gem of a book!

Austin's Resurrection Bed

It is such a comforting thing for my Mama heart to consider this ~

Austin's body was sown in corruption, but, it will rise in glory.

Just as the Lord Jesus Christ's body was raised up

in perfection from the tomb, so will Austin's.

From this very spot ~ his resurrection bed.

"But now is Christ risen from the dead,

and become the firstfruits of them that slept."

~ I Corinthians 15:20 ~

"So also is the resurrection of the dead.

It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory:

it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.

There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body."

~ I Corinthians 15:42-44 ~

**Our last name was photo-shopped out of this image**

The grave marker was fashioned from a slab of polished black granite.
We are so pleased with the workmanship of the carving ~ 
the family who did the work are true craftsmen.

We are also thankful for the message it conveys.  
John 6:37 was Austin's favourite verse ~ please click here to read it.

Austin's trust was solely and alone in the finished work of his Saviour.

Our son's body rests in the ground until that glorious day

when all God's people, in the twinkling of an eye,

will be caught up with the Lord Jesus Christ in the air.

"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, 
and we shall be changed."
~ I Corinthians 15:52 ~

What a day that will be!

Rejoicing in the thought of it.

Praising our Great God for the Truth of it.
Life here is temporary.  Life there is permanent.

Many Blessings,

Camille

Only a Moment

A few Sundays ago, after the service, a precious friend

took time to talk and listen and encourage.

She said something that has been such a blessing to my heart.

"The days are long, but, the years are short."

It will only seem a moment before we are ushered into glory.
Life here is temporary.  Life there is permanent.

Helpful words?  Yes.  Comforting?  Absolutely.

Every elderly person I have ever spoken to

says the same thing ~ life flies by!

And, in the twinkling of an eye ~ eternity begins.
It happens this way for all of us.
The big questions, in light of this, are these ~

Where will we spend it?  Where will we go?  Are we ready?

It is not on our own merit that we are welcomed into Heaven.

It is all the Lord's.  All of it.  We depend on His works.  Not ours.
The Lord Jesus Christ's perfect life lived on our behalf.  
The complete and perfect payment of the penalty 
for the sin of His people.  He took our sins upon Himself,
in order that He could bestow His perfection on us.

The Lamb of God.  We must look to Him.  Trust in Him.

Surrender to Him ~ completely and utterly.

In His work alone is Salvation to be found.
It's the only way.  He is the only way.

What is He to you?  Is your peace found in Him?
Is He your all in all?  Do you trust Him with your never dying soul?
 Settle with Him before the time He has granted you is gone.
Before we know it, it will be!
We all face the same reality.  Time is short.
We only have this moment ~ none other is guaranteed.

Flee to Christ while He may be found!

"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me;
and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
~ John 6:37 ~

The best way to be found of Him is to read His Word.
Begin by reading Genesis, and then read the book of John.
His Word, the Bible, is True.  It's Powerful.
The words can only change us if the words are read.
We can only be changed by the power of the Living God.  By His Grace.
In light of this, please ask the Lord to open your eyes to see and
enlighten your heart to understand.  He is able.  He is merciful.
And, He graciously answers prayers like those.

The greatest thing in all of life is to belong to Him.
Be sure you are His and He is yours ~ nothing is more important.  
Nothing.

Many Blessings,
Camille

**Photo in this post courtesy of Calvin ~
Thank you my love!  XO

With the LORD ~ Final Update

*UPDATE* ~ Austin's memorial is scheduled for Monday, June 10, 2013 ~
Please email Camille at flowersinhisgarden@gmail.com 
if you are in our area and would like to attend.


"...The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away;

blessed be the name of the LORD."  ~ Job 1:21b ~

Suddenly, and without warning, our precious Austin

was taken to be with his Saviour yesterday morning ~ June 1, 2013 

sometime between 9:45 and 10:45am peacefully in his sleep.

I had spoken with him at 9:45 and returned to his room to wake

him for the day at 10:45 when I found him unresponsive.

He had tucked himself in and appeared to be asleep ~ peaceful.

It has been determined that his heart went into ventricular fibrillation

and was unable to recover with the shocks delivered by the internal defibrillator.

Apparently, he would have passed out from the 

fibrillation and passed away shortly thereafter.

It does not seem real.  I write this from a broken heart.

I had told Austin he was to bury me ~ it was not to be the other way around.

But, our Great God had other plans ~ better and wiser ones.

Austin suffered most often in gracious silence the last three years of his life 

with rarely a complaint ~ he just was not a complainer.  

He was always easy-going and found joy in the little things.

The LORD has delivered him from his pain and suffering.

He is with the Lord Jesus Christ in glory ~ praising the Saviour he loved!

He would not want to come back.

But, oh, how I want him back!

For just one more hug, one more smile, one more laugh.

To see him and hear him and touch him ~ my first baby.

But, this is not what is best.  God truly does what is best.

His ways are perfect.  He always does all things well.

We must continually speak Truth to ourselves.

We must fill our minds with Truth.  God's Word is Truth.

It is living and powerful and is our sustenance in times like these.

Each day is a gift.  Each moment is precious.

God graciously gave us extra time with our Austin.  

Humanly and medically speaking, he should have died last spring

when he was first diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

But, God saw fit to restore him to health and life for a few months.

It was a gift that I will always cherish.  From the hand of a Loving God.

May we never charge Him foolishly.  

May He be glorified in all we do and say and think.

May He continue to daily give grace to live for Him.

We cannot take this journey alone ~ and, we are not called to.
He walks this path with us.  The waters will not overflow.

In Austin's Birthday card this year, 

the verses we shared with him were these ~

"Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by name;

thou art mine.  When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee;

and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee:

when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned;

neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour."

~ Isaiah 43;1b-3a ~

These promises are real and true.  

They will stand sure until the end of time.

We have every confidence that we will one day see our

precious Austin again.  In Heaven.  Forever.  With the LORD.

Thank you for walking this journey with us.

Thank you for supporting us in the myriad of ways that you have.

We appreciate each and every one of you.

Keeping our eyes fixed by His grace alone ~

And with Much Love,

Camille

**The photo in this post was taken in the Fall of 2011 ~
It's a favourite photo of Austin when he looked most himself.

**Please know that your thoughts shared and comments made
will be cherished by each one of us ~
I will, however, be unable to reply at this time.
We will have to be absent from this space for the next while ~
Thank you for your gracious understanding.
Please pray that we would remain steadfast in HIM.

**If you are not sure where you will spend eternity,
please click here and prayerfully consider your never dying soul.

Update ~ Howie posted on his blog in his own words as a Dad.
If you would like to read what he wrote, please click here.