tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228120646629855408.post3350726798824078191..comments2018-06-01T06:55:34.330-07:00Comments on Lessons From My Daughter: When a Slow Death Scares the Life Right Out of YouJo Deehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17021276262612497358noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228120646629855408.post-78270250868892140752014-11-21T18:25:15.700-08:002014-11-21T18:25:15.700-08:00Thank you for writing, Katrina. Life is a journey...Thank you for writing, Katrina. Life is a journey--pain, joy, and everything in between. I was thinking today about Christina's last days--some were just plain hard. Some were inspirational. And it was all full of mystery. We had absolutely no clue when the last day would be. It truly was a journey. I felt a bit like a mid-wife. It was hard work and the beautiful result at the end was Christina with Jesus. Thank you for helping me understand the beauty of the pain and the joy.<br />Jo Deehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17021276262612497358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228120646629855408.post-47336365855785900252014-11-21T18:20:02.700-08:002014-11-21T18:20:02.700-08:00Amanda, I am so glad to hear from you. I have jus...Amanda, I am so glad to hear from you. I have just returned from India and Kenya and I thought of you so often. I have told many people about your great kindness to me in helping me obtain my visa. I am so thankful you have read Christina's story. I love the statement, "If you want it Jesus, I want it too." I am going to spend some time on that profound thought. It speaks of great faith in God's goodness.Jo Deehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17021276262612497358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228120646629855408.post-30184017667111367052014-11-16T15:45:52.804-08:002014-11-16T15:45:52.804-08:00You wrote this so truthfully and full of love. Tha...You wrote this so truthfully and full of love. Thank you. I have been pondering Brittany, and her choice to set a date for her life to end. <br />My mom died of lung cancer. It was a journey that I will forever be grateful for the rest of my life. Like your daughter my mom was on hospice for many weeks, almost 16. I wouldn't want it to be different. We had so much healing as a family. And every moment is precious. Even if they are absolutely the most painful moments. <br />This life is a journey. And it if full of tears and joy. God really does make everything beautiful in his own time. <br />Peace be with you. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16072929892235378167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228120646629855408.post-9591052468629523492014-11-11T22:30:24.308-08:002014-11-11T22:30:24.308-08:00hi jo dee! this is amanda from cox and kings. than...hi jo dee! this is amanda from cox and kings. thank you so much for the book and the flowers. <br />your daughter reminds me of blessed chiara luce badano, she also fought against cancer. she is my model. one of her final words were "mom be happy because i am" chiara always said "if you want it jesus i want it too". this words reflected in how your christina lived. i am once again inspired to live my life in light and love. <br />when i see the flowers you gave me, i am encouraged to do great work. i am happy to have met you. i hope we meet again.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14257588203618490619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228120646629855408.post-76670176121400722992014-10-09T23:40:01.279-07:002014-10-09T23:40:01.279-07:00Thanks Brian. I think the other part of Christina...Thanks Brian. I think the other part of Christina that I loved so much is that she considered life with Jesus such an adventure. She really felt that trying to live for herself was dull and pointless. Living with Jesus was fulfilling for her--in ways she had trouble describing. But her joy and delight in life was evident in her smile, her love, and her engagement with all who came in contact with her.Jo Deehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17021276262612497358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228120646629855408.post-74965263587278782842014-10-09T22:19:23.632-07:002014-10-09T22:19:23.632-07:00Here are two wonderful but tough realities.
1. T...Here are two wonderful but tough realities. <br />1. Those who are children of God recognize that the gift of forgiveness, grace, mercy and tender care came at the price of Christ’s own gruesome death for our sins. He exchanged His pure life for our rebellious one. The point being , that He bought us for a price. He purchased us for Himself with Himself. It is the great exchange.<br />That means those who belong to Him must embrace the fact that they have given up their rights or agenda to have life their way, and of course, even over the timing and manner of their own death. <br /><br /><br />2. That being said, we also must remember that as His child, our life is not our own and was ultimately purchased back from sins deadness into real living for His purposes. It is not just that He owns us, but He assigns us to larger and more amazing things then we can even see or imagine. Things that will last for ever, eternal purposes. <br />We are His representatives in those purposes. Lights in a very dark place –ambassadors of hope and freedom for the amount of time He chooses. “In Him we live and move and have our beings”<br /><br />In fact an ambassador never gets to choose where they go, what they do or how long they stay. As we live and choose to surrender to His eternal agenda, we finally learn that living here in this broken world was never about ourselves. Christina was chosen by God to live out her life in the manner she did - in a very gracious enduring manner, because she understood that it was never about her. It was about those who journeyed with her through all of it. Christina took the long view as must we. As a child of God, she had the right measurement tools to determine life’s purposes. Christina may have not ever expressed it that way but she knew it to be true and she lived it out – she existed for others for as long as God needed her to. <br /><br />She ran the race to the end. She knew people were watching. The way she ran made others believe they could run to the end themselves even through their own pain and loss. That is the world we live in. But some are victors and others just give up. Some choose to live as victorious lights while others think they were here for themselves and their own comforts. The victors know who they are, and what they are here for.. Just like Jesus, she came not to be served but to serve! She was a finisher.<br /><br />Brian Pautz<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12364690561202707833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228120646629855408.post-67573424243460378732014-10-09T16:03:18.513-07:002014-10-09T16:03:18.513-07:00Thank you, Betty-Anne. I hope for seeds of faith ...Thank you, Betty-Anne. I hope for seeds of faith to be widely scattered by Christina's life. She felt strongly about sharing openly and said often, "If even one person walks more closely with God because of my story, it is worth it." Thank you for your encouragement.Jo Deehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17021276262612497358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228120646629855408.post-9197207092689606942014-10-09T14:37:15.574-07:002014-10-09T14:37:15.574-07:00I am sorry for your deep loss. Thank you for letti...I am sorry for your deep loss. Thank you for letting us learn along side you Jo Dee. It isn't easy to believe God's promise to replace a crown of beauty for ashes. However your openness will most certainly give God opportunity to sew seeds of faith in new places. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00264389126900483396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228120646629855408.post-7155840178000565192014-10-09T13:03:34.637-07:002014-10-09T13:03:34.637-07:00Yes, Karen, I believe Jesus makes a huge differenc...Yes, Karen, I believe Jesus makes a huge difference in these journeys we live. Thank you for commenting.<br />Jo Deehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17021276262612497358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228120646629855408.post-52881706933831909282014-10-09T13:02:50.319-07:002014-10-09T13:02:50.319-07:00Thank you for your comments and compassion. I als...Thank you for your comments and compassion. I also hope that Brittany experiences more--beyond the date she has chosen. One never knows the deep joy and deep connection that might be experienced in times of difficulty. Jo Deehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17021276262612497358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228120646629855408.post-12507938606776950302014-10-09T12:03:31.176-07:002014-10-09T12:03:31.176-07:00This lady has all that, you don't think she ha...This lady has all that, you don't think she has chosen to live her life to the fullest in the time that she has? The only thing I don't agree with is that she has chosen a date. What if she was still in ok health and not in misery. I'd hope she'd decide to change her stance and stay around for a few more days or weeks until it became painfully aware that her time from then on out would be nothing but pain medication and sleep. Sorry for the loss of your daughter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228120646629855408.post-87418374744878750962014-10-09T04:51:55.403-07:002014-10-09T04:51:55.403-07:00Oh how I wish Brittany could know Jesus. It would ...Oh how I wish Brittany could know Jesus. It would make all the difference. And, thank you JoDee for once again speaking the truth with such compassion, love, and amazing hope.Friday Tidingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03483841168540024428noreply@blogger.com