[Do not take one single moment for granted...]

*This is bit long, but worth it, I think--Props to those who actually read it and finish...*

This last 5 days or so in Wisconsin have been full of so many amazing experiences and feelings I have to share them.

Most of you know, we went there for Ben's uncle Jim's funeral. It was a sad reason to go, but we wanted to be there for the family. I wasn't expecting the amount of encouragement WE got just by being there and seeing all the ways God was working though.

We got in on Friday night, and the funeral was Saturday. During the funeral, I don't know why, but I cried silently practically the whole service... why? I don't know. I didn't really get the chance to know Uncle Jim as much, but I now know Aunt Julie and her three kids much better, and seeing them go through this broke my heart. I thought of Romans 12:15: "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep."
I think the Lord gave me an ability to weep with them,  to feel some of the burden, and just to have understanding of all the emotions on that day.

Two things greatly impacted me during this service.
1) We have hope of a risen Savior, and hope of seeing those who were redeemed through Him again in heaven someday!
If you read anything at all in this post, read this!-->
Uncle Jim, in his last few days, wrote a 4 page letter that he intended to have read at his funeral, and it was.
I can't do a very good job of summarizing it, but it said something to the effect that, he was so blessed to have such an amazing wife, and three beautiful children. He didn't know what God's purpose was for creating this illness in his body, but the Lord must have a reason for it, because they had done every physical possible thing to try to save him. He talked about how he was blessed and happy to have lived his life this long, and that it WAS a good life, and it WAS a long life. The Lord gave it to him, and Jim was happy to have lived it. Though it was painful for his family, he could not argue against the will of his Savior.

The thing Uncle Jim talked about most in his letter however, is that he KNEW where he was going after he would die, he was secure in his salvation with the Lord. Yet, in his letter which was read to every single person in that church--he admonished them to be saved. To be reconciled to the Lord, and to not wait one single breathe more to do so, because the Lord could take any of them, just as quickly as he took uncle Jim to heaven. It was amazing to hear all these words written by a man who we all knew was standing in the courts of the Lord worshiping Him at that exact moment. I was weeping, and I think almost every other person in that room was too.

The second thing that hit me so hard that day is my Aunt Julie's response to the Lord's will, and to Jim's wishes after he passed on. We had a time of worship during the service, and she was standing there, holding her hands open, singing, and smiling...not just smiling, rejoicing in her Savior! Her strength and trust in the Lord for every thing was so obvious that day/week we were with her. Of COURSE there were tears, but she had a rested, and trusting countenance that said "The Lord is my Father and Comforter, I will trust in Him, His will, and His way, and I know that He will always be with me!!"

It was the most beautiful example of trusting in Him I have ever seen, and  that alone brought me to tears, realizing that I don't know if I myself would be that strong should I lose my own husband someday....
I realized that day that I needed a lot of help from my Savior to be completely dependent on Him and Him alone.

One other AMAZING thing about that letter that was read at the funeral was the fact that Uncle Jim and Aunt Julie had been praying for a man who was an unbeliever, and had experienced some hard things in life. Uncle Jim had sort of been a mentor to him, and wanted nothing more than for him to trust in the Lord.
That man was there at the service and heard the letter read. After the service, he told Julie that it had impacted him greatly, and that he wanted to talk to her. The next day, the guy came to Julies church and was talking to the Sunday school teachers and asking questions about this "salvation" that Jim had talked about in his letter. Julie was in tears with joy when she heard this....
Can you imagine?? Even through her husbands funeral, Julie (and us too!) was rejoicing that people were impacted by Jim's life and words!
Another thing is (and this impacted me as a wife)....even after Jim's death, Julie was still being submissive to him, in that she said things like, "I think Jim would've preferred this" or "No, Jim wanted such and such...not that..."
People were always giving her suggestions and trying to help Julie and the kids, but she always considered what her husband would have wanted first. I call that the most beautiful form of submission around.

After the funeral and for the couple extra days we could spend with Julie and the kids, we had a great time as a family, a mixture of tears, joy, laughter, and fun--times that will never be replaced.
I'll post some pictures later, once they're uploaded, of some of the silly things we did.

One thing Julie told us several times is, not to take one single moment for granted with each other. We don't know what the Lord's will is for our lives, or how long He will let us stay here on the earth, so in the mean time cherish every second you spend with each other. My life being married to Benjamin Jung has only begun, I hope I have learned this lesson quickly, and I thank my Aunt Julie for her faithfulness and encouragement that she was to us and the others who were around her.

We love you Julie, Ryan, Andrew, and Kayla!