SCRUMDIDDLYUMPTIOUS!

I had reason to pause the other morning as I grabbed the handle to the freezer side of our refrigerator.  My attention had been drawn to the various pictures of my wife that I had taped to the door.  The thought that caused me to stop in mid- reach, was the startling reality that, even after six years, she isn’t here anymore! 

I can’t say that a week has gone by during this time, in which I haven’t found myself physically turning around, after getting up from bed in the morning… and fully expecting to see her waking, sleepy smile in the place she occupied next to me for 48 years!  But my initial shock and pang of sadness doesn’t last very long as the Lord gave me some scriptures to stand upon for situations just like these. 

A week or so after her passing back in 2018… after the kids had returned to their homes in California and Oklahoma, I found myself in the quietness of our empty home, praying at the kitchen table.  I had peace and comfort in knowing EXACTLY where she was, but asked the Lord for a picture of how she was physically (or spiritually?) doing in her new home.  After a few more moments of prayer, I sensed a leading of the Holy Spirit, instructing me to look at and combine the scriptures located in Ephesians 1:4 and Psalm 16:11… and, rather specifically, to do so using my favorite God’s Word © Bible translation.

So, after I reached to my right where my Bible just happened to be sitting on the table near me, I read the two scriptures and couldn’t help but to break out into a big smile as I gained a clear and concise picture of my sweet wife in heaven! 

After encouraging the church to “Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,”* Paul went on to instruct them in Ephesians 1:4 saying:

“Before the creation of the world, He chose us through Christ to be HOLY and PERFECT in his presence.” 

While, many years previous to the Pauline Revelation, David had written while thanking the same God for not abandoning him during the various trials and tribulations of his life declaring,

“You make the path of life known to me. Complete JOY is in your presence. Pleasures are by your side forever.” 

And without a second thought, I grabbed my trusty mechanical pencil, underlined the verses, and scribbled some notes in my Bible and then wrote on my note page for the day… that my

“Piper is NOW: HOLY, HAPPY and PERFECT in the presence of Almighty God!”

…and I have held that picture of her vividly in my heart every day since that experience! 

Over the years since then, I have also made those two scriptures to be a part of my daily scripture confessions that I declare first thing every morning.  But an interesting thing happened one morning not too long after we moved into our home here in Oklahoma.  I was confessing these verses, while rehearsing the picture that they always present to me of her walking through the beauty of heaven with that big, warm, encouraging and loving smile on her face, when my tongue sort of tripped and I added to my confession that,

“Piper is NOW: HOLY, HAPPY and SCRUMDIDDLYUMPTIOUSLY Perfect in the presence of Almighty God!” 

Well… I must say that this threw me a curve and I stopped and said aloud… “Isn’t that kind of sacrilegious to add that word… if it even is a word… to the Word of God?”  And without missing a beat, I immediately recalled all the various adjectives and double adjectives that Paul is well-known for using when he spoke of the goodness of God in his various epistles… and I thought… Well… you know what?  I bet if Paul was around today… that he would also be tempted to use “SCRUMDIDLYUMPTIOUS”** in his modern descriptions of God’s goodness!

In fact… I think that it perfectly describes Piper’s life in heaven… because it is the nature of God to be perfectly SCRUMDIDDLYUMPTIOUS in everything that He does for all of us… whether we be in heaven or on the earth!***  And I especially like the word SCRUMDIDDLYUMPTIOUS because, to me, it gives the connotation of being so good and enjoyable that it spills all over you and you get MESSY in order to fully enjoy it!

A good example would be my mother’s absolutely delicious Crab Cioppino that she used to make on special family occasions.  There was NO WAY that you could fully appreciate and enjoy the wonderful richness of the combination of crab legs, various kinds of fish and the thick Italian sauce without it dripping down your face, down your hands… any many times… on your shirt as well… even with the special Crab Cioppino bibs she always had on hand!

Therefore, if you’re anything like me… then you also want to live life with the SCRUMDIDDLYUMPTIOUSNESS of the goodness of God dripping down from all over you!  Am I right about that?

It gives me instant peace and a spark of JOYFULL HAPPINESS when I look over at the empty other half of our bed in the morning, or at Piper’s piano that she’ll never play again or at the memories of our life and family that are hanging from picture frames around the house, when I remind myself of how Holy, Happy and SCRUMDIDDLYUMPTIOUSLY Perfect**** she is in her new home in heaven.

And likewise, I am JOYFULLY reminded that it is also the way that our heavenly Father thinks of us who are still on this earth… and wants us to be in return… JUST LIKE HIM… with the remnants of His Grace-filled SCRUMDIDDLYUMPTIOUS goodness-like sauce dripping from us!

Now that’s a picture you won’t soon forget!  Have a great weekend, share HIS special sauce with those around you and keep asking yourself…

“WHAT AM I EXPECTING TODAY?”

 

*Ephesians 1:3 – God’s Word ©

**And YES! It is a word that the Oxford Online Dictionaries defines as a food that is extremely tasty; delicious or of a person who is very attractive!  Also check out: https://www.thekitchn.com/scrumdiddlyumptious-is-now-recognized-as-a-word-in-the-oxford-dictionary-236166

***Remember Jesus’ prayer to the Father concerning His followers in Matthew 6:10 where He prayed “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

****I understand that the word translated “Perfect” in this verse is defined as “being without blame” due to Jesus’ shedding of His blood during His sacrifice on the cross that cleansed us of our sins… but to me… Piper was made Perfect as the love of my life (as I think every husband should feel about his wife… and visa versa)!