The Next Chapter...

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”

                        2 Timothy 4:7 KJV

Ah!  Sunshine… It finally came after the onslaught of hurricane Florence and her four days of continuous heavy rain and strong winds.  I can’t think of a better sign than that to start off my first blog post since the passing of my sweet, beautiful wife Piper Kaye a few weeks ago.  It is probably pretty obvious that this blog will begin to take on a new emphasis as I move from one chapter of my life to another. 

Since that first post on December 1, 2010, I have endeavored to follow the Lord’s leading to encourage and build expectation in the hearts of my readers as we walked the long journey we took and the good fight we fought for my wife’s total and complete healing from the debilitating effects of Alzheimer’s.  I felt the Lord say that this blog would be a good way for me to verbalize all the things that were going on in Piper, around us and in me… and would hopefully, be a light of faith to others along the way!

And along the way… I’ve had people criticize and disagree with me concerning some of the things I’ve said, but you know, let’s face it… this blog was always about Piper and I, and our personal reactions to events and experiences, all seen from our point of view… and not theirs!  But also along the way… I have received countless comments over the years from readers all over the world who have been blessed and encouraged by our experiences and walk of faith!  Thank you!

So where do I go from here?  Only God knows! 

Since Piper’s glorious home-going on September 2^nd, the Lord keeps giving me the word “continue” over and over again.  It seems to pop up during my daily Bible study times, in prayer, in the Christian study books I’ve been reading, and in my quiet times sitting by the front porch window meditating on the events of the last few weeks and jotting down notes and memories in the new notebook I purchased and entitled “Piper’s Story.”

So, what does He mean to “continue?”  I believe He is instructing me to not miss a beat when it comes to the daily amount of the Word that I was speaking over and reading to Piper during her illness.  But now… that Word is to be meant especially for me!  Piper seemed to confirm that idea to me a day or two after she passed.

On that particular morning I had slowly swung my feet out of bed and sat there for a while just staring at the array of Piper’s pictures that I continue to add to that wall next to the bed since we moved in here in November of 2015.  Then as I focused on one 8X10 black and white closeup that I had taken of her in 1972 up at her parent’s house, I looked into her eyes and declared: “I will try and be strong for you today, honey.”  And without missing a beat, I immediately heard her soft voice in my head sweetly say to me, “I want you to be strong for YOU now, Jimmy!”

So… here we go!  Where exactly… I have NO idea!  But, go we will and I choose to keep my eye’s, my heart, my mouth and my brain fully focused on him and His Word!  I have heard one call and do plan to move to Oklahoma to be near the majority of the kids and their families.  I love this place and countryside out here in North Carolina, but you know?  This was Piper’s and my dream home together and the Lord showed me this morning that this place is another item on Piper’s bucket list that she could check off.  I hadn’t really considered it that way, but Piper’s last house really was the type of home and location that we had always dreamed of!  So, isn’t God good!

So… Oklahoma is in my future and… who knows what else?  But I do know that Papa God and I will do whatever it is together.  And in this new chapter of my life, in this new blog emphasis, I’ll share it with you along the way!  So… buckle up and away we go…!