Enter into God's Rest by Megan Criniere
Thinking about Charlie today, missing his big smile and his boisterous laugh, missing his ornery comments to provoke a response from me and his antics when playing with the kids. But today, I also feel a deep sense of peace, something that sounds out of place considering what we have walked through this last year, something that has made a profound difference for our family.
To know that Charlie has made it home, his final destination in life, to know that he is filled with immense joy and gladness so far from our earthly comprehension, and to know that he is with Jesus enjoying life in its fullest expression, all of it brings me such peace knowing that he is fully at rest. I am also experiencing the same peace but in a different context and a different place.
Ours is a peace in the midst of trial, a peace in the midst of struggle, a peace that brings rest and assurance but right in the midst of pain and loss.
In John 14:27, Jesus says,
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.”
We have experienced a year of profound peace right in the middle of pain. We have felt the gravity of loss in every waking moment, feeling the distance and ache, feeling my children’s pain, and experiencing the weight of natural circumstances. However, still, in the middle of it all, the Lord has met us with His peace that has calmed and quieted our hearts, a peace that has reminded us of his promises for us and encouraged us to show up for one day at a time and continue showing up when we don’t want to when we feel like we can’t. There is a God that transcends it all.
Today, on Charlie’s birthday, I want to invite you into that same peace; in the turbulent times we are living in, through all of the pain, loss, and suffering, know that there is a peace that goes beyond our circumstances, a peace that goes beyond our broken places and reaches for us to keep hoping and trusting, Jesus longs to meet you right where you are and give you his peace. It’s like a calm that comes in the most violent storms, an assurance that it will all be okay no matter the circumstance because He is with you and won’t leave you. There is a confidence that comes when we know the Creator of the Universe, the one in complete control of it all, will lead us and guide us in every season of our soul. Today, on Charlie’s birthday, as we consider his life and impact and the blessing he was to us, I invite you to ask the Lord for peace, to talk to Him, and lay down your heaviest burdens and receive his peace. There’s an invitation from Jesus in Matthew 11:28. He says,
“Come to me all you. You are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
Let him give you rest today! Please join us tonight at 7:30pm CT for a live steam interview with David Popovici, my brother-in-law and missionary about the life of Charles Criniere. With love, Megan