This date was acknowledged in the Old Testament in the book of Esther, as a day of celebration. There had been a plot - a holocaust against the Jews, much like what we saw happen in Europe in the 1940's. Queen Esther, with the help of her Uncle Mordecai, helped uncover this plot to wipe out their people, and it was completely turned around to become a day of victory and celebration for the Jews. They conquered those who were opposed to them, and the Lord tells us in Esther 9:21 - "Have them celebrate annually on the 14th and 15th days of Adar (March for us), as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month of when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration".
9:28 - "These days should be remembered and observed in every generation, by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never cease to be celebrated by the Jews, nor should the memory of them die out among their descendents".
I'd read this book many times, but it wasn't until after my dearly beloved Daddy went home to heaven, that I read it with a whole new perspective.
You see, my daddy DIED on March 15, 1984. This was surely a day or mourning for me that lasted many years. Each year I would fall into deep depression at the emptiness at the loss of this man that I adored. It's hard to believe that tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of that horrible event.
I had no idea how I could ever turn this day of mourning into a day of celebration, as it states in Esther 9. What could possibly occur in my life that would bring about such a change?
Nineteen years after my daddy went home to heaven, I got my answer, and this is how the story goes:
In December 2002, I met Bill, and when he proposed to me, he said it was up to me to pick a date for our wedding. I quickly found a calendar and checked to see what day of the week March 15 was going to fall on in 2003 - SATURDAY! Perfect- I could have a real wedding, with all the kids and grandkids!
When he asked why I picked "The Ides of March" to get married on, I was able to explain to him what that date meant to me, and also tell him the story from the book of Esther.
My sweet husband to be made sure that this was the most special day of my life. He took care of all the arrangements for the wedding, and I got to pick out the most beautiful bridal gown I'd ever seen - I was getting a wedding in a chapel, and a gown to boot - something I didn't get the first time around.
So tomorrow I will surely remember my daddy, but it won't be the day of sadness and emptiness I had felt for 19 years - it will be a day to celebrate a new man in my life; a day of happiness....or as it says in Esther - "a day of sorrow turned into joy, and a day of mourning turned into celebration".
My Precious Daddy - see you in Heaven!
1 comment:
A very beautiful bride,indeed......have a blessed Lord's day,Shelley
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