5-8-2021: Tribute to a Cousin's Husband, in Life, “Such As It Is,” Context: Including the Mundane, Good, and Bad, Swallowed Up in Victory

Introduction

May 8th is Victory in Europe (VE) Day (for most World War II allies). The date falls on Saturday this year. Tomorrow is VE Day (for Russia, the former Soviet Union) and Mother's Day. The section “The Bad Swallowed Up in Victory” will emphasize a temporally sad event that will be tomorrow.

I take pen in hand to write about the events of this week. As in life, it includes the mundane, the good, and the bad (swallowed up in victory).

The Mundane

Sunday, 5/2/2021, was Eastern Orthodox Easter. The Eastern Orthodox and Russian Orthodox celebrated Easter (or Resurrection Sunday, as I prefer to call it) on that day.

I still work at home, Monday through Wednesday, and at the office, Thursday and Friday. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman still drives to and from her job daily, by herself.

5/3/2021, Monday: I arranged an every-four-week chiropractic appointment during my revised lunch hour. My wife tried to keep her usual, about 4 PM, appointment. Various traffic congestions and a wreck (not involving her) delayed her. She arrived late but made her appointment.

5/4/2021, Tuesday: Working from home, I decided to take a break, to check the mail in the mailbox. My timing was perfect! The speeding school bus that comes around about 3 PM sped by, while I was at the mailbox. I tried to flag down the driver, so I could ask him to slow down! He waved and kept going. The next day, I called the folks that control his income. I wonder if that will slow him down.

The Good

5/3/2021, Monday: A friend, whom I have known since our days at Walters State Community College, attained another year older. Instead of calling, I emailed him. I included a friend, whom I can't recall ever not knowing. My friends and their families are doing well enough. We may get “the gang” together one of these days. We will see.

5/5/2021, Wednesday: I called my “adopted sister.” She is just over eight years older than me. Her family and she live in Charleston, Missouri. I have written about them before. The anniversary of her birth was that day. I called after work. We talked for over an hour. She has her “whatevers,” which are worse than mine. Her mother, who is my “adoptive mother,” is doing as well as she can, considering her age. I also spoke with her son (my “nephew”). I wish that time and distance were not so great. I'd like to see my Charleston, Missouri, family in person.

5/6/2021, Thursday: My youngest brother and his wife celebrated their wedding anniversary. They were married on 5/6/2000. I performed the ceremony. I have written about the details before. I hope that they had a good anniversary, despite it falling on a workday. Also that day, the daughter of my friend (mentioned above, whose birthday was Monday) and his wife celebrated her birthday. If memory serves, I think that she attained the grand age of 30.

The Bad, Swallowed Up in Victory

5/7/2021, Friday: At 85, the husband of one of my paternal first cousins left this world, while their daughter held his hand. He was an outstanding Christian. His legacy will continue. I regret that time and distance, among other things, have not allowed me to see my cousin and her husband in several years. The last time that we saw each other was when another cousin and her husband held a family gathering at their home. We all had a great time at the reunion that day!

Tomorrow, 5/9/2021, Sunday, will be his memorial service. I doubt that we will be able to attend. For several days, I have been collecting shovel loads of tree pollen in my throat. The loads are going away (as I state politely). Tomorrow, I do not think it wise to share my tree pollen infestation (i.e., case of the snots) with anyone. I will be present in mind, heart, and spirit. Soon, I hope to talk with my cousin, at least by phone.

Conclusion

Today, I watched and listened to “Johnny Cash & Family - Will The Circle Be Unbroken,” Hank Hamm (YouTube), 2/24/2007. At age 10, I remember family talking about “the circle” being broken, after Papaw Ferrell passed. There was sadness. Since then, the family circle has been further broken, by the passing of many others.

The heavenly circle, however, is being formed more completely. My first cousin's husband is the most recent addition to the heavenly family circle. His loss in the earthly family circle is sad. His presence in the heavenly family circle is joyful.

Will the circle be unbroken by and by, Lord, by and by. There's a better home a-waiting in the sky, Lord, in the sky.

I conclude with the words of the inspired apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:35-58, NIV:

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. Not all flesh is the same: people have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another, and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “the first man Adam became a living being;” the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.