Dove Release--and the Angel Dove

Something very special happened immediately following the committal. Our Lucas clan did a dove release.

Our Tim and now Danny have worked for a vet who keeps homing pigeons/doves, and who allows them to be used for weddings or funerals. When I called to ask about the possibility of releasing doves at Mama's burial and how much the charge was, he said we could take a few--at no charge. He was happy to do that for us since our boys have worked for him.

But then the burial didn't happen right away, and his doves were moved down south of town for the winter.

Disappointed, I was able to find another dove release business in town, called Dick's White Doves.

Dick knew the man our boys worked for, and he said he would bring his own doves at a great discount. 

He brought 42 doves in these pretty cages.

I loved how in the photo Crystal took, it looked like rays from heaven falling on the doves, waiting in their cages here on earth,

like the souls of those who are still in their earthly bodies, waiting to be set free from this world of sin and woe. 

 

Dick allowed anyone who wanted to hold a dove.  

Daddy Lucas was the first to receive a dove. 

Nearly everyone took a dove. 

Dick instructed us how to hold the birds so they would not fly away prematurely.

Those white doves left a little white dust on our dark jackets or coats!

Getting ready to let go. That's Rob, who loves to photograph wildlife.

Dick let us know the direction in which the birds would fly, and we all turned to let go and watch them go. 

 If you enlarge the photo, you can see the doves beginning to take off as we release them.

 Dick opened the cages and released the rest of the doves all at the same time.

Since I was the one who had made the calls and made the arrangements, I was a little nervous about how this was all going to go.

And besides, I was also part of a grieving family that had just let go of a dear mother and grandmother, and I had breathed a prayer to the Lord today for something special during this sad time.

In my mind I envisioned something really special, like releasing the doves, and watching them circle overhead, and suddenly seeing an angel up in the sky!

Wouldn't that be special!

Well, we didn't see an angel in those moments, but when we got home, Tim showed me the photos he had taken, including a burst shot, a series of 34 photos taken in a matter of seconds. 

"In this photo [the one above], doesn't the dove in the middle look like an angel?" he asked.

I looked and looked at that photo, and I was about getting goosebumps.

I know it's blurrier when I enlarge the photo, but I was awed!

It looked like an angel hovering right over the grave!

All I could think about was my prayer and the thought of seeing an angel when we released the doves.

I know that dove in the photo was just a dove. 

It was not an angel.

It was just a dove that in that split second had its wings spread to lift itself to the sky.

But if "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," is it possible that angels appear to those who believe?

To those who pause long enough to see and hear them in the midst of the ordinary?

To those who look for them with the eyes of the spirit?

Angels of comfort; angels of peace; angels bringing good tidings; angels singing; human angels who help in time of need.

And yes, even special dove "angels," reminding us of who carried Mama home to the Father's side.

The doves circled and circled and then headed off toward Garden of the Gods  near which was their home, like the angels which, after announcing the Savior's birth to the shepherds, went away from the shepherds back to heaven. 

Doves like these, our friend had told me, have flown back here to Peyton from Buena Vista (2 1/2 hours away), from Trinidad, and even from Salina, KS ( 6 hours drive away).

Their built-in GPS created by God is amazing!

And every Christian has a built-in GPS inside, pointing to heaven--the Holy Spirit guiding and wooing us, telling us the way in which to walk, lest we stumble to the right or to the left.

"Some glad morning when this life is o'er, I'll fly away," the songwriter penned. 

Like those beautiful doves, Mama Lucas has flown away and has reached home.

We are still waiting in the cages of our earthly home.  

But some glad morning, we too, shall fly away to our eternal Home!

Mama Lucas's Inurnment--We Have Hope!

The Lord blessed us with warm sunshine despite the cold this afternoon at the inurnment service of Mama Lucas. 

 (While working on Mama Lucas's obituary, the family learned that when an urn is buried, it is called inurnment instead of interment.) Esther had made this beautiful arrangement of evergreens, baby's breath, and crysanthemums of Mama's favorite color, lavendar.

As family and Jonathan's father's pastor gathered in, we were grateful for the sunshine which had not yet been hidden by the foothills in the distance.

Crystal got this snapshot of the urn between Jonathan and his father.

Bro. Steve Kearney had a very brief but challenging message--

"Let us commit ourselves afresh to being ready when it comes our time to die.

Because Mama Lucas was ready, by her own testimony, he said, we know she is in heaven.

Only a couple or so weeks before she died, a friend had written us, 

she had shared a victorious testimony at church.

After the committal, the Lord's prayer, and the singing of "When We All Get to Heaven" as Jonathan's dad had wished, we did a dove release, which I will post about in the next blog post, so as not to have too many pictures on one post.

After everyone else had left, Jonathan and I lingered a little, as we wanted to get a couple more snapshots from a different position, with the twilight in the background.

Then we started walking up over the hill to Jonathan's truck.

That's when a big pickup pulled up by us. It was an old friend that Jonathan used to work with, whom his work buddies had affectionately nickname "The Old Man."

He had no idea we'd be there, and apologized for interrupting us--which we assured him was not an interruption.

He had come to visit the grave of his wife, whom he had lost a few years ago.

He often comes, he said in tears, even though he knows she isn't there. 

He showed us around to possibly a dozen or more different gravestones of people we had known or been acquainted with, such as the daughter of Ward French.

It was a special ending to the afternoon, before heading off to be with Jonathan's immediate family and spouses for the evening.  

I hope our chance meeting was an uplift to him, even as it was a blessing to us to have an old friend to talk to and show us around. 

And of course, at this time of evening, deer visit the cemetery, looking for bits of grass to graze, or possibly the fresh flowers such as we brought today!

"Your flowers won't last long," our friend told us. "The deer will eat them!"

The grass withers; the flowers fade (or are eaten by deer), and our dusty bodies return to the dust from which they were made.

But the Word of God stands forever, and His promises tell us that Mama did not die, but rather went to sleep--to waken in the resurrection at the last day.

Carols, Carrots, and Caring

More pictures from our Christmas season.

Here Rose, Hannah and two friends are playing at an assisted living center in Calhan.

 

Carrie and her friend who were there as well. 

A not-quite-perfect but cozy scene after everyone went to bed.

Bro. Donald Lefever, organist or pianist  at our old church, and Jonathan's father. The Lefevers have been friends who have never unfriended us! Always loving and kind.

 Crystal wanted us to play a game the evening of her birthday.

 Candle light service at Foothills Missionary Church, our old church. 

We didn't want Jonathan's father to have to try to get through a candlelight service alone. 

 I couldn't resist quietly getting this picture.

Also this one of last Saturday afternoon at Jonathan's dad's place where we went after the memorial service, to make lunch for him and eat with him, cut his hair, and decide about the fencing that the wind had blown over.

 

And in between the many doings, there are always three meals a day to prepare. 

Here I am slivering carrots from our garden for borsch and stirfry.

It has been a very busy, but very fulfilling, Christmas season!

Christmas Surprise!

Jonathan took this series of pictures while I was doing dishes Christmas day. Danny had built me this live edge wooden stool for me to set laundry baskets on when I am hanging laundry outside!

They were going to surprise me!

The surprise went great!

I was soo happy! The wooden chair I had been using to save my back had just broken into pieces recently.

I love homemade Christmas gifts!

I appreciate all the gifts, but ones made by my children's or husband's own hands are very, very special.
 

Just like the gift of God's Son--not bought, not manufactured at a factory, but given from God's heart and tenderly sent by His hand.

 

Christmas Day--Sharing Our Happy Home with Others

God didn't give us a happy home just to keep to ourselves at Christmas time. He gave it to us to share.

For the last several years, we've been able to share our Christmases with several different kinds of people from several ethnicities--from Hindu/Indian to Mexican to American to Australian.

 And our Christmas didn't begin in the morning with a beautiful white blanket of snow, but the night before.

Inspired by a "Names of Christ" theme for a table at a ladies' tea earlier this month, I decorated our table on Christmas Eve. 

I couldn't do the pretty decorations she had, but Danny's Christmas gift to me was a set of about two dozen elm branch wooden rings he sawed for this project.  

And I simply found a whole bunch of names of Christ throughout the Bible after Christmas Eve gift-opening time and wrote them on the wooden discs, with references. 

 I was awed at how many names were given to Jesus, our Lord. He is all we need! His names tell us so many things about Him!

For our Christmas morning devotions after a delightful breakfast, each of us chose a favorite name of Christ from along the table and read that verse from the Bible.  

The children teased Danny about his "wedding suit" that he had received as a gift!

Rose got a kick out of the way a sibling explained that her gift would be arriving later.

Jonathan had bought a meat smoker on a great clearance a while back, which everyone is putting together and admiring.

Danny admiring the ax that had gotten wrapped in a guitar case with an elf hat for decoration!

Jonathan's father had asked to spend Christmas with us, which we were happy for him to do. I gave him a "Memories of Mama" album with a collection of hundreds of memories that family and friends sent in cards, by text, online, or otherwise.

Crystal and others made a new arrangement of the names of Jesus and pointsettia so that there would be enough room for the dishes of food. I wasn't up to a huge meal, but we still had mashed potatoes, ham and gravy, corn, and a tossed salad and fresh rolls. Simple is perfect for me!