Declaring The Marvelous Works Of God

It's been one week since my last blog post. One week since our beautiful granddaughter passed away. In fact, I received the news that she had died, while I was writing about her that Sunday, a week ago today.

This past week has been filled with lots of tears and lots of laughter, feelings of great loss and moments of great joy.

And in the stories told and re-told by my wife, who spent the last two hours of Elania's life by her side, I have found incredible peace, comfort, and wonderful victory.

In the last hours of her life, Elania so allowed God to fill her and move through her that those who came to comfort her, were comforted by her. Those who came to be strong for her, were made strong in her strength. Those who came to calm her fears, had their fears relieved by her fearlessness. In her passing there was great peace for all who would take it.

Over the almost nine years of Elania's short life, my wife and I, along with countless others, have prayed for her. In our prayers, one of the things that Nan and I would boldly declare was that Elania would "live and not die, and declare the marvelous works of God!"

In our minds, we saw her as a young adult, free from cancer, completely whole, ministering the good news of God's love to thousands of people all over the country, forever changing people's lives.

But, how many of you know that God sometimes sees things a little differently than we do? His ways and thoughts are higher than ours, and because He knows the beginning from the end, we can be at peace knowing ". . . that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." --Romans 8:28 (NKJ)

You see He did answer our prayers. For in dying in Christ, Elania forever lives, free from cancer, completely whole. And through her life and in her passing, the marvelous works of God are being declared to thousands of people all over the country, who are being forever changed.

And that's only what's happening now! This has only just begun! The full story of her life and death hasn't even been told, yet. That story is for her Nana to write and to tell.

And in the days to come, she will write it and she will continue to tell it to all who will listen, again and again.

And if you ever read it or hear it, you will never be the same again. It simply is not possible to hear the story and not be changed!

Talk about making your life count for something! You did it, Elania! You did it!


I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. --Psalm 9:1-2 (NKJ)

It's Okay To Be Done

“I’m done!” Elania announced to my wife, Nan, with a sigh.

Nan was rushing through the airport, several years ago, with her two grandchildren trying hard not to miss the connecting flight that would bring them back to Florida. With her baby grandson, Shane, in her arms, along with the all the paraphernalia that comes with traveling with a baby, she had been trying to encourage her three year old granddaughter to walk faster, when Elania decided she was too tired to go on.

And so, she told her “Nana” she was “done.”

“No, baby, you can’t be ‘done!’” Nan cried, more than a little panicked at the fact that Elania had just stopped right where she was. “Just a little further!”

After some pleading, Nan managed to convince her to push through and they made the flight.

During the year prior to coming to stay with us in Florida for a short time, Elania had proved herself to be quite a little fighter. She had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. After surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments and a second surgery, things looked good for a complete recovery.

Life went on for the next several years, but then the cancer returned. More surgery, more chemotherapy, and surgery yet again, are the events that have marked her life over the past couple of years.

While recovering from the most recent surgery, and as she was about to begin yet another round of chemotherapy and radiation, she contracted an infection that left her too weak to proceed with the treatment. It was also discovered that small piece of the tumor that they not been able to remove during the last surgery, had grown aggressively.

There was nothing left to do, but leave her in God’s hands.

Yesterday, as she lay in her hospital bed, she told her dad that she hoped her mom would hurry up and get there because she was really tired. She was tried of fighting, and she wanted to go home.

When I heard what she had said, I knew, in my heart, she was saying, “I’m done.”

Part of me wanted to cry out, “No, baby, you can’t be done!”

But how can you say that to a child that has had to go through all that she has been through in the almost nine years of her short life. Hasn’t she earned the right to just be done?

Her mom did get there. Nan also got there and they spent last night and this morning singing songs to her, sharing hugs, kisses, and smiles and Elania even laughed.

Nan told her, "Elania, you’re so strong!"

Elania nodded her head in agreement and then flexed her muscles for Nan.

Nan said, “You make me strong.“

Then late this morning, she was done, and she went home to heaven.

While our hearts are torn and broken, we rejoice that she is free, and safely home at last.

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelations 21:4 (NKJ)

Elania Marie Canady, September 19, 2000 - September 6, 2009

Little Miracles, High Places and Amazing Achievements

When I sat down today to write, I was surprised to see how much time had past since my last posting. Time does have a way of moving right along, especially when you are busy.

For me, the last month and a half has been packed with so many events and activities that it wouldn't be possible to share them all with you. So I've narrowed it down to three things, as indicated by the title of this post.

LITTLE MIRACLES

On August 11th, my son Chris, and his wife Charity, welcomed Aribella Grace into the world. After years of trying to have a successful pregnancy, Chris and Charity had all but given up on the dream of having their own child. But our timing isn't always God's timing. God had a plan and answered their prayers with a beautiful baby girl.

HIGH PLACES

This picture is one of the views from the top of Mt. Evans in Colorado. The top of Mt. Evans sits 14,264 feet above sea level. My sister and I hiked to the summit on August 17th. (Now you know why they are called the Rocky Mountains!)



Fortunately, the highest road in North America takes you most of the way there, since in places that high, there seems to be an extreme shortage of oxygen! (Much different than the less than 200 ft. altitudes that I am accustom to in Florida!)


AMAZING ACHIEVEMENTS

On August 26th, my parents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary! I was in Colorado, along with many other family members and friends, to help them celebrate this amazing achievement.

Their lives have been an a true testimony of the power of faith, hope and love.


So maybe, just maybe, you can understand why I'm feeling mighty blessed right now!

The Fine Art of Flirting (How Those Sparks Keep The Fire Burning Brightly)

People often tell my wife, Nan and me that they cannot believe that we have been married for over 15 years. They just have a hard time comprehending that people that have been together that long, could act the way that we do around each other.

Well, I’m here to suggest to you that there is an art behind such a relationship. And it is an art that we have learned to do well (after all, we’ve had over 15 years of practice). It is the fine art of flirting.

Let me stop here long enough to say that not all flirting is of the “fine art” variety. There is a great amount of inappropriate flirting going on in the world, as I am sure you know.

I believe if you are married or in a committed relationship with someone, then that person should be the only one that you flirt with. Many a marriage has been ruined by what started out as “innocent” flirting.

And why does it happen so often? Because it feels good to flirt and to be flirted with, and it is probably something that is missing from their relationship at home.

But if you’re good at flirting, it feels no less “good” when you are flirting with your own spouse. It fact, I believe it feels much better, because it carries no burden of guilt with it.

There is quite a range of flirting that Nan and I engage in, from very intimate to very public. Both are important.

The intimate flirting is important because it is something that only the two of us share, which strengthens our unity and commitment to one another.

The public flirting is important because it is an outward declaration of our love for each other to the entire world, or at least as far as to those who are watching us (and people do watch). Not being afraid to show our attraction to each other in public causes trust to build between us.

Hopefully, our public flirting also serves to inspire and encourage others to work on their relationships so that they, too, can experience the joy of what we have.

Good flirting sometimes harkens back to the time when everything was new in your relationship and rekindles those feelings of excitement and anticipation of what might come out of what was only just beginning.

I recently called my wife and asked her to go to dinner with me, but I did it as if I had never asked her out before. The exchange started something like this:

“Hello, is this Nan?”
“Yes.”
“Oh hey, this is Robert. Robert McArthur? I don’t know if you remember me . . .
“Oh, yeah, how are you doing?”
“I’m good. Hey, I was just wondering . . . .”

That began an entire evening of acting like we were on a first date. The only difference was that she did come home with me to spend the night, something that would have never happened on our first date! But it was okay, because we were married before we walked through the door of our apartment!

It isn’t hard. It’s loads of fun. And it feels good.

Don’t know how to start? How about walking up to your spouse in the kitchen and saying, “So, do you come here often?” You might be surprised where the conversation goes from there.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Special thanks to Jessica for sharing with Nan and me some of the flirtations that took place between you and your boyfriend. It helped me realize that the spark that keeps things hot for Nan and me is the flirting, and it inspired me to write this in the hope that it might help others to find a way to have this much fun! From what I can tell, I think that you and Marc have this down really well. Can you imagine how good you’ll be at it after 15 years of practice!?!

My Precious Treasure

"Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life."

--Proverbs 31: 10-12 (NKJ)


For over 15 years I have wanted to write a song specifically for my wife, but never had just the right words or tune. Then last night as I was going around turning out the lights, I walked past my keyboard and decided to play a tune or two before I went to bed.

I do this sometimes, because it relaxes me to play some of the few melodies that I have written over the past years. I started off playing an untitled instrumental that I had come up with maybe a couple of years ago.

As soon as I started, I found myself singing words to the music! I had only finished the first few lines when I stopped, for fear of forgetting what I had sung, and ran to get my laptop computer so I could write it down.

Over the next hour or so I worked with the words I had been given and wrote her the song that I had been wanting to write all these years.

I truly feel blessed to have the rare and unique relationship that I have with my wife. My prayer is that others will learn how to love this deeply.

So, even though I am not able to share the tune with you, I thought you might enjoy reading the lyrics to Nan's song.



MY PRECIOUS TREASURE

God gave me a treasure,
That treasure is you, dear.
He blessed me much more than I deserve,
So much more.

My heart overflows with love,
As I thank my Lord God for the blessing
He gave to me,
When you became my wife.

This love is, oh, so rare
There are few that can dare compare,
To this amazing love we share,
Each and every day we live.

You will always be precious,
So precious to me, dear,
I gave you my whole heart long ago,
Long ago.

And with each new morning star,
I will rise up and somehow,
I’ll love you more than e’er before,
You truly are my life.

Oh yes, you’re truly my whole life.

I’m just so thankful you’re my dear wife.


"He who finds a wife finds a good thing,
And obtains favor from the LORD."

--Proverbs 18:22 (NKJ)

Aribella's Lullaby

My newest grandchild is due to arrive next month. The arrival of Aribella has been much anticipated as my son and his wife have been trying to have a baby for quite some time, without success. They chose her name before my daughter-in-law became pregnant, because it carries the meaning, "Answered Prayer", which is exactly what she is.

I wrote a lullaby for her and just thought I would share the words with you.



ARIBELLA'S LULLABY

Sleep little baby girl,
No need to fear,
We’re right here.

Angels watch over you
As you sleep through the night.

Just close those sleepy eyes
And drift on away,
It’s okay.

And when the morning comes,
And on through the day
We’ll laugh and play.

Two eyes that shine so bright,
And soft hair that reflects the light,
Your small hands that know to hold on tight,
So precious in our sight,
Sweet baby.

You are the miracle,
God sent to us,
To cherish.

We’ll be right by your side
Each step of the way.

And every day that comes
We’ll bow and pray,
And thank Him.

Grateful to God above
For our heart’s desire,
Our answered prayer.

You’re truly,
God’s gift of love,
Our Answered Prayer.

The Love of a Father

Today is Father’s Day, and I’ve found myself thinking a great deal lately about the different things that Father’s Day might mean to other people, given the wide range of unique experiences that they may have had with their fathers.

Personally, I always think of Father’s Day as being a celebration of who my father is and what he did for me, rather than being about me as a father. And so, I even find myself sometimes just a little surprised when one of my kids or my wife makes it about me.

I am blessed to have a wonderful father who loved, cared and sacrificed for me, as I grew up, and who continues to love and encourage me today. He worked hard to give me a life full of rich experiences, and lived out a life of compassion and caring for others in front of me.

My relationship with my dad has a lot to do with how I understand God as my loving, Heavenly Father. Unfortunately, not all fathers leave their children with fond memories of their love and support.

So I can’t help but think that it must be harder for those who did not have a wonderful father, to experience the richness of knowing God as their Father, and having that closeness of relationship with him. With my own father, I’ve experienced the kind of love that would have caused him to lay down his own life for me, if needed, so that I could live. But what about those who haven’t known that kind of love?

And what about those, who haven’t known a father at all?

I guess it’s up to all of us to show forth the Love of God in all of our thoughts and words, and in those things that we do, so we are a reflection--however dim--of the Heavenly Father’s love for them. In doing so, perhaps they can experience what it is to be truly loved beyond measure.



“A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.” --Psalm 68:5 (NKJ)