I have been absent during the past two weeks, and it was not planned ahead of time. I’m still not back in a close-to-normal routine today, but to be honest, I don’t want to go back to what used to feel normal. I want renewal, revival, growth. I want old things to wither and new things to take root. Maybe I should design a new face for the blog.

But about my absence–my father-in-law died suddenly early Monday, May 12. My sister-in-law, who is a great nurse practitioner, called us to pray while he was still having chest pains, and then afterwards to tell us he had passed away. We were praying the Lord would have mercy, and He did, just not the way we anticipated.

I’m glad I heard all of the tributes he received from friends and supporters at his funeral at Briarwood Presbyterian (PCA). He was the administrator for Partners in Asian Missions, so he had thousands of friends around the world. Hearing their praise and prayers repeatedly stirred me. I’m thankful to be in his family.

Of course, that week was harder on my good wife than it was on me, but the Lord has not left us to grieve alone. He has been with us as we walked through the valley of the shadow of death. Surely goodness and mercy . . . surely goodness and mercy . . .

Added to this trial, we’ve had a couple material disappointments. A week ago Friday, I decided to finish off the homemade ice cream and found it melted in the freezer. Our six-year-old refrigerator had short-circuited. We finally got a replacement delivered today, so we’ve been the week without a fridge. And when I returned from work last Thursday, we discovered our glass exterior door (the one outside our front door) had shattered. At first, we thought of vandals, but we have learned it was an accident.

So, I’ve been out of the office blogwise. I appreciate your prayers and even for taking the time to read this post. Let me pass on a message from my other sister-in-law, who is a great homemaker in America’s northern-most state, about her dad and the influence he has had on us.

No Time To Waste – My Father’s Life

Susanna Biederman

Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 10:16am

For those of you who don’t know already, my dad died and went to be with Jesus on May 12. I went to Alabama and Texas to be with my family for the funeral and burial. It was very comforting to hear what my dad’s closest friends had to say about him. But I think my cousin, Becca, put into words better than anyone else. Here is what she wrote…

My uncle, Jerry Sharpe, passed away earlier this week. Well, actually, to be truthful, for some unknown reason, God decided that it was time Jerry joined Him in Heaven and took him. It was a sudden heart attack, a surprise to all of his family.

Uncle Jerry was an amazing man. He leaves behind a legacy as a husband, a father, an uncle, a brother-in-law, a grandfather, a pastor…. I will miss getting his updates and prayer letters from his travels throughout Asia where he worked with national pastors. I will miss having him at those times when our extended family gets together to celebrate life in some way – whether Christmas or anniversaries or birthdays or summer vacations.

I find myself grieving for my cousins who are now without him, for Jean, his new wife that I haven’t even met, for my mother who treasured him as a brother-in-law. And I find myself grieving for myself; I will miss him. In some ways, he influenced my willingness to come to Asia. He challenged me in some way every time I had a conversation with him – challenged me not to settle for anything less than being sold out for Christ. And I don’t think he even realized that was what he was doing. He just did it.

So this week, as I’ve been grieving and pondering his life and influence, and wishing I could be with my family for the funeral, I’ve also been reminded how short our lives are. We don’t have much time – we really don’t! We don’t have time to focus on the little things that distract us from living for the big picture. We don’t have time to waste on the big things of this world that distract us from the little things that matter. We don’t have time to not pour out ourselves into the relationships that God puts in our lives. We don’t have time to not risk everything in order to go and make disciples of all nations. We don’t have time to not fix our eyes on Jesus and run after Him in passionate pursuit. We don’t have time to not live out our lives fully, wholeheartedly, completely devoted to pursuing God and His purposes for us. We don’t have time to not be on fire for Him. We just don’t have the time to not make our lives count.