for dean...

Welp, it was snowing last night. Hard. Very hard. And the wind was pretty severe, thus I decided not to journey northern. No time indoors for me. Which is fine. I got a ton of work done and was able to hang with a kid that I hadn’t seen for a while. Needless to say, I didn’t post all weekend because of laziness, not because of anything noble or exciting… I honestly had a topic in mind to write about, but it just went away… man, I must be 29 or something… what was I going to say???? Dang.

So my brother in law is honestly one of my favorite people on earth, I love ‘em tons. Well, his dad died the other day and that bums me out. His dad was larger than life and always fun to be around. I actually have known him longer than my sister. His name was Dan, but I first met him when I was a kid up at summer camp where he was the boy’s dean. Everyone called him “the dean”… I thought his name WAS Dean… He finally told me after a week his name was Dan… oops. He also taught me the card game 500. that’s big. I love 500 and their family’s variant called Pheffer. Many a night spent playing cards into the weeeeee hours. He’ll be missed.

I don’t remember where I first heard this, but Genesis 22 talks about Abraham taking his son up to be sacrificed. I was taught that from early on, not really thinking about it that much, but in verse 5 there is a testament of faith that I can only pray to come close to. It reads as follows; “He [Abraham] said to his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will return.’” Did you see it? As far as Abraham knew he was going to kill his son for the Lord. That’s all God told him; “Take your son, your only son, Isaac... and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering” (22:2) But what does Abraham say? WE will worship and WE will return!!! I don’t think that’s on accident. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation, Abraham knew that God keeps His promises… so who knows what Abraham was thinking, maybe he was just saying that because he didn’t want to freak out Isaac or his servants, maybe he was just trying to formulate a plan. Or maybe he knew that God would provide- either a way out or a miracle, regardless he told his servants they would both return. He was right- God provided a ram and Isaac was spared.
The New Testament sheds light on what Abraham was thinking: Heb 11:17-19:
"17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,18 even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. "

We can have the same confidence when we head up the mountain of death. We know we will return- not return to this sinful world, but rather to life eternal. As Dan’s Caring Bridge site said, he was just declared cancer free as he sits at the feet of his Creator. Dan in Paradise for the same reason I will be- God provided a ram in the thicket for us in the person of His Son Jesus. He once and for all conquered sin, death, and the devil! Man oh man what gift…
It’s hard not to be bummed about Dan… but as Eugene Peterson paraphrases Psalm 30:11-12 in “The Message”
“You did it: you changed wild lament
into whirling dance;
You ripped off my black mourning band
and decked me with wildflowers.
I'm about to burst with song;
I can't keep quiet about you.
God, my God,
I can't thank you enough!”

What I learned about God this weekend: (see above)
What I learned this weekend: I need to be indoors… soon. Also, wisdom isn’t taught…