February 13

“Let the little children to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”

We have raised three daughters to adulthood, seen them married to men whom I count as my own sons. My wife and I are now grandparents of nine grandchildren, four boys and five girls. These gifts from God have filled our lives with joy by their love of life. We held each of them from the day of their birth, and have seen them grow to experience the love of our heavenly Father, through the tender care of their parents, family members and friends in our community of faith. But nothing in our experiences prepared us for the loss of our grandson, Luke Austin
Pollock, on the 13th of February in the 4th year of his life. Luke came to our family two months early and we shared in his care and in the blessings of each success as he struggled to live and make a place for himself in family, church and his nursery school community. Luke loved the stories about men of valor who showed courage and love for the right and for all things good! Like the knights of ancient legends, Luke became our “knight in shining armor.” He was laid to rest dressed as he had played, in his own suit of armor and with his bag filled with “my guys” as he called them. He was “Peter Pan” and, to his grandmother, he would always say, “Oma, you be Captain Hook!” In grief, this passage from the Gospel of Luke has brought comfort though it does not stop the pain of our loss of this “child of God’s kingdom!” Words fail to tell you how hard it has been to give Luke up to the all-loving hands of our Lord. But there is hope and peace in the words of Jesus to the disciples: “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”

LOVING FATHER, WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND DEATH, BUT WHEN ONE WHOM WE HAVE LOVED DIES, WE CLAIM YOUR PROMISE THAT, BY FAITH IN CHRIST THEY ENTER YOUR KINGDOM! MAY WE RECEIVE YOUR KINGDOM AS A LITTLE CHILD, SO WE MAY ENTER AND MEET IN ETERNAL LIFE ALL WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE US THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. AMEN.

-Shared by Rev. Hugh L. Parsons