Dear Friend,

As most of you know, my brother Dave went home to be with the Lord on January 29, 2022. My sister Margaret joined him in Heaven ten months later on November 14, 2022. I was thinking of some things about them that make me smile—like when Margaret came to stay with me for a season in Tulsa and Bud got to introduce her to the church. (I have always called my brother “Bud.” (I’m smiling.)

Margaret and Bud’s birthdays were on the same day: May 1. Margaret was two years older than Bud. When she was two years old, Mom told her, “I have a birthday present for you,” and she showed Margaret her new baby brother. To Mom’s surprise, Margaret said, “But I wanted a puppy! Not a baby budder.” She couldn’t say brother, and that’s how Dave got his nickname “Bud.”

Many of us are entering 2023 without some of our loved ones here with us, but the good news is: We will see them again! Amen. I can’t imagine anyone who’s born again wanting to come back once they’ve seen Jesus. Knowing this makes it easier for those of us still here.

I am so grateful that me and my family will all be together when this life here is finished. The Apostle Paul says in Second Corinthians 5:6-8:

Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

As long as we’re here on earth, we will miss our loved ones in Heaven, but the peace of knowing where they are helps so much. Jesus made a way for us. That’s why it is so important that we pray for the lost. In Second Timothy 4:18, Paul stated: And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

My heart goes out to anyone who has suffered from the loss of loved ones. I’m thanking God for making it possible for us to see them again. I can’t help but smile knowing that Margaret is with Bud, and I’m sure this time she said, “I’m so glad I got you for my birthday instead of a puppy!”

We are blessed to have such an amazing and wonderful Lord just like it says in Ephesians 1:3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Amen.

I believe we will always miss those who have gone on before us, but there is peace in knowing where they are. Jesus said in John 14:1: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

My prayer for 2023 is that things will start turning more in God’s favor, the lost will come running to Him, and all the crops of Satan fail. Amen!

In His love,

Donner Roberson