Author: Kimberly

free lance photographer, jewelry designer, writer, gardener, & seamstress

HOME!!

About 10 months ago, I shared a story about a young man who was deployed.

It was so difficult to leave. T. said “Daddy, I don’t want you to go.”
This is the story of his return:

(To see the photos in a larger format click on each photo. Use your browser’s arrow back to return to this page.)

We made our way to my daughter’s house to be with her the last couple of days of this long journey her family has been on.
We anticipated an arrival early on Saturday morning around six am. Then the calls came in that their arrival had been moved up – Twice! The approximate time would be around two am. We put two Very Excited boys to bed knowing that Daddy would be home in the morning. We didn’t expect to wake them up in just a few hours. Around one am, we put jackets and pants over their pajamas and each carried a very sleepy boy to the car. The youngest one didn’t quite understand when I said we were going to pick up Daddy & insisted on having his Daddy pillow. (A ‘Daddy pillow’ has a photo of ‘Daddy’ in the center.) We made our way to the base. The photos will tell the story.

Tie a yellow ribbon…

Two sleepy boys…


Well, one was hungry! When someone wakes you up at 1:30 am, you Have to have a snack!

Or, some chill time watching ‘Sponge Bob!’

Time on the couch might help… Everyone!

Or, letting your brother make you a miniature Uncle Sam…

J grabbed his ‘Daddy pillow’ to snuggle with which he has loved during Daddy’s ten month absence.

Typical military routine is to hurry up, get on your shoes…

and Wait! … We just heard he was on base, but this is a 154,000 acre base!

A spouse left behind is very patriotic.

I see a tear… Who says “Marines don’t cry?!”

The pure Bliss is seen on his face as he hugs her.

They were all so excited and taking their turns in the arms of the man they love and call ‘husband and daddy.’

   

A family reunited is Joyous!

(The boys were looking at the sign Mommy made while they were sleeping.)

“Daddy you are so Tall! I am Two now!”

“Welcome Home, Proud and Hero” hardly covers the plethora of emotions to see Jeremiah Home again!

I would give up a night’s sleep any time!!

And we Thank God for bringing him home safely!

“Praise the LORD! For he has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. The LORD gives his people strength. He is a safe fortress for his anointed king. Save your people! Bless Israel, your special possession. Lead them like a shepherd, and carry them in your arms forever.” — Psalm 28:6-9 NLT

And here is a link to the first story: The Lord is my Shepherd, I have all that I need.

(This Hero happens to be my “son-in-love.”)

It is Finished!

Jesus entered by lowly birth

To give all he had to this earth.

In swaddling clothes, a baby wrapped

His destiny our God did map.

In ministry, He was betrayed

By Judas’ kiss quite firmly laid.

Sent by leading priests to stand trial;

Charged as King, there was no denial

In death and burial, He freely gave

To those His Father sent to save.

Like a crim’nal, His back was whipped.

His body was bloodied and stripped.

The priests and teachers mocked aloud

Their jeers were heard throughout the crowd,

‘If you’re the Messiah, Prove it!

Can you save yourself? Just do it!’

To Father’s will He did submit

Sins of this world would He remit.

A pure, Holy, unblemished Lamb

To save the lives of All of man.

On Simon’s back the soldiers tossed

The heavy burd’n of Jesus’ cross.

For his clothes, soldiers tossed the dice,

Our Savior paid a higher price.

Darkness fell, changing day to night,

The world sought to put out the Light.

The crowd heard Jesus’ tortured cry:

“You abandoned me my God, Why?!”

Bystanders thrust the sour wine

Into the mouth of the True Vine.

One more cry where they could hear it,

“Father, I release my Spirit.”

Immedi’tely the veil was rent;

To the throne room our Savior went.

The world with earthquake was shaken.

“The Son of God has been taken!”

He was pierced for our transgression.

His blood flowed for our accession.

His body wrapped, laid in a tomb,

But this was not His final room.

His fate was to be raised again

To reconcile the world of sin.

His last words were “It is finished.”

Our image, His grace refinished.

© 12-11-2011 Kimberly M. Alligood

Note: To explain my thoughts on the last two lines: Jesus’ last words as a man were ‘It is Finished.’ but His words live on and on. We are transformed daily into His image when we accept him as our Savior and Lord and follow His will for our lives. Pressing towards the mark of seeing like him, treating others as he would, etc. He paid all of the debt to take us back to God. As it says in 2 Corinthians 5, we are being called back to God: 

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (NLT)

Who is your accuser?

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. John 10:10 (NLT)

Accuse verb def: to charge with crime; to impute guilt or blame. Jesus took accuse out of accuse(r) and left us with His Righteousness. See John 16:9-11

Who is stealing from you?

Then the angel showed me Jeshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The Accuser, Satan, was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Jeshua. And the Lord said to Satan, “I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire.”

Jeshua was a high priest who was standing before an angel of the Lord. What did God say to Satan, the accuser? “I reject your accusations!” If we take this personally, ‘Where are our accusers?!’ See John 8:7-10 They are rebuked when seen through God’s eyes. Nobody or nothing can steal our salvation except who and what we allow! Only the thieves we allow into our house (our temple) can rob us of joy or our relationship with God. We are the burning sticks which have been pulled out of the fire by Jesus Christ’s ultimate sacrifice.

 Jeshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel. So the angel said to the others standing there, “Take off his filthy clothes.” And turning to Jeshua he said, “See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes.”

But Jesus didn’t stop there. Not only have we been redeemed, he looks past our filthy clothes (our sins) and removes them! Plus he has given us new clothes – a New image! A reflection of God! Who are your accusers? Thoughts? Self? 

Then I said, “They should also place a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean priestly turban on his head and dressed him in new clothes while the angel of the Lord stood by.

Things just get better with God. They placed a covering on his head. As in Ephesians chapter six, we are given the helmet of salvation. What is the helmet of salvation? It is the mind of Christ. It is placed on our heads. It is our responsibility to keep it, by renewing our minds to the Word of God.

Then the angel of the Lord spoke very solemnly to Jeshua and said, “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: If you follow my ways and carefully serve me, then you will be given authority over my Temple and its courtyards. I will let you walk among these others standing here.

“If you follow my ways …” We are instructed to follow God (in His way – in His will) and he prepares our paths before us. See Proverbs 3:5-6 

“Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets. I will engrave an inscription on it, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, (which says)* and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day.

“Listen…” it says, the Branch is Jesus Christ who bore our sins on the cross. “I will remove the sins of this land in a single day.” Day here is yowm in the Hebrew. I find the definition of day here very insightful. It comes from a root word ewy which means to be hot (in the heat of the day) or from sunrise to sunset. Jesus’ crucifixion only took one day – his sacrifice which gave us a new covenant all occurred in one single day. The trial, the beating, the cross all occurred in the span between sunrise and sunset. See Matthew 27:1 & Matthew 27:45-46 During the light portion of the day, the “light of the world” was squelched but Not destroyed!

“And on that day, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, each of you will invite your neighbor to sit with you peacefully under your own grapevine and fig tree.” Zechariah 3 (NLT)

The last verse in this passage of Zechariah three talks of the day when we will all follow God in unity of faith. In That day, (when we are unified by the Spirit) we will live peacefully. See Ephesians 4:3 and Ephesians 4:13

I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!
      For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation
      and draped me in a robe of righteousness.
   I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit
      or a bride with her jewels.
The Sovereign Lord will show his justice to the nations of the world.
      Everyone will praise him!
   His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring,
      with plants springing up everywhere. Isaiah 61:10-11

Prayer: Father, help me to know who I am through your enduring Word. Help me to see myself as you see me and not as any thief sees me. Help me to keep my eyes focused on you. Thank you for your love for me and all of your people, which is everyone. Thank you for a rich and satisfying life! Thank you for my salvation! Amen.

*Added for clarification from other translations.

The song I Am Who You Say I Am by Kelanie Gloeckler captures the essence of what I wrote @ kelanie.com:

I Am Who You Say I Am