Marshall's Maple

Marshall's little tree is growing bigger! It is flourishing. Dad put new mulch around it recently and a little soldier guards the trunk.






"Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants . . ."

Heidi

R.I.P.

I read this in my quiet time this morning:

The righteous perish,
and no one ponders it in his heart;
devout men are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
to be spared from evil.
Those who walk uprightly enter into peace;
they find rest as they lie in death.

- Isaiah 57:1-2

Have I even read this before? It was underlined in my Bible. I need to be reminded of this! Did someone share this verse with me soon after Marshall's death? Probably. People shared a lot of encouraging words, and I would keep telling myself to write them down so that I could actually process them later. Now I can let myself think about these things. It is hard to understand why God took Marshall away, and that is exactly what this verse is saying. Isn't that what people always ask? "Why did God do this to me?" God always has a grand purpose that is good for everything that happens on this earth. I forget that. Marshall's death spared him from evil. Marshall was immediately taken from this fallen world into blissful reality. He went from seeing shadows of truth to seeing Truth itself! Marshall is in peace. He is at rest. His soul really is "resting in peace."