Well Done Pop
A man of God came to me and said "The Lord said that the last two months of 2016 are going to be your hardest months of the year, but hang on because your 2017 will be great!"
When I got that word I immediately began to internally prepare myself for what was coming. How many of you know you can't prepare yourself for something you don't have specifics about?
In the last 2 months of 2016, my oldest son was involved in a horrible car accident that left his car totaled. My 24-year-old, unmarried daughter announced she was pregnant and later wrecked her car (baby is fine), my youngest son was suspended from school, our members were having financial and legal problems, my son had to have surgery and unbeknownst to me, that was just the beginning.
Who knew those last two months would find me getting cussed out by ex-wives, buffering between married couples, dealing with school principals and assistant principals, speaking with insurance companies, a baby daddy family member, assisting our college daughter with tuition, looking for a larger place to hold our weekly church services, chasing a runaway German Shepherd, sponsoring a pilgrim on their Emmaus Walk, and much more.
During this time I still had to plan Thanksgiving meals, prepare food baskets and toys to give to the needy, attend Christmas recitals, band concerts, continue the Christmas shopping I never started, visit family and still conduct a Christmas service.
Many times I wanted to throw in the towel but those words kept coming back to me, "The last 2 months are going to be difficult." On January 4, 2017, my husband lost his father Joe Maneice bka "Pop." My 1st thought was, "Hey he didn't die in 2016. What is this? This is 2017, the word was we would have a horrible 2 months in 2016 and 2017 would be great. Is this a residual effect from the prophetic word?"
Although is was no surprise that Pop was not at his prime, I still believed that God would heal him. And He did! I must admit November and December of 2016 were hard, but not nearly as hard as saying goodbye to a man who has been apart of my life for over 20 years. The man with always a story to tell, the man whose sense of humor was unmatched. A man who enjoyed reading the actual daily paper despite the electronic generation. A man who was a father to his 7 children especially the 3 that preceded to glory before him. A man who helped his wife raise my children for over 5 years while I worked in the Middle East. A man who walked me down the aisle and gave me away to his son. A man who stood in the gap for me as a dad many times. A man who will be missed, treasured and admired for his love for God and his love for his family.
Rest in Heaven Pop-your work here is done!
