My boys are B A C K!

I thought a little explanation might be in order.

Here is one of the Brothers making sure Katie got a ride to the cemetery.

Mikey has a whole slew of brothers . . .

They share a brotherhood . . .

I liken it to the armed forces. They share a brotherhood also. They have each other’s back. I know this because I had a brother who was a Marine and I have a brother who was in the Airborne. They've explained this to me. I also have a nephew who is serving his third tour in Afghanistan but that is another blog post.

So regardless of how life ebbs and flows, they hang in there for each other. If they make a promise they keep it. Well, these brother’s of Mike’s promised to look out for his family after he was gone.

You've seen in the blog posts that many of the brothers were here when Mike passed away. They carried him to his cousin’s Hearse and followed him to the funeral home. Some stayed there as a promise not to leave him alone and the rest came back here to my home.

While we were sitting here I told them I hoped they would stop by sometimes. They promised they would. And then I said, “And you know, if you’re ever riding in the area, could you drive down my street? I love to hear the pipes on the bikes. You see, when Mike was healthy enough to get out and ride these past several months, I would get anxious. And then I would here his Harley in the driveway and I would relax and think to myself, Oh, good, Mikey’s home! And you know what? Mikey’s home!” as my voice started to break and drop off.

It gives me such comfort to know that Mikey is home with his Savior. How can I be so sure?

Mike was a baptized child of God. The Holy Spirit planted the seed of Faith in his heart that day. And that is that.

Pastor Parsons reflected it perfectly tonight as he recanted the story of Good Friday during the Tenebrae service at our church. When you think about the last seven words Jesus spoke from the cross before he died, you realize that Mike is in heaven with Him.

Jesus first words on the cross were words of Pardon. He said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Jesus said this about the very men who had just nailed him to a cross even though he did nothing wrong and didn't deserve it. This showed us the grace of God. Were those men sinners like Mike. Yep! Did they or Mike deserve God’s forgiveness? Nope, but Jesus was on that cross to give it to them anyway. It wasn't about what Mike did, it was all about what Jesus did for him.

The second words on the cross were words of Promise. The criminal who hung next to Jesus had not lived the life of a Christian. He may have never even been in a church, but Jesus told him, “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.” Grace again. There were times in Mike’s life that he lived as a Christian. There were also times when he did not. He told me about his anger with God for not taking his CF away. A couple months before he died he said to me, “Mom, do you think God won’t forgive me . . .because you know, I’ve been kind of mad at him . . . and now he might think I’m only coming back because I might die or something?” I smiled at him and told him, “Mike, you know God doesn’t work like that. You know the story of the prodigal son. There is much rejoicing in heaven.” He relaxed and had comfort. That Faith that was planted in his heart was still there. 

How was I so sure Mikey was forgiven? Because Jesus gave us the example of the thief on the cross J Because Jesus lived a perfect life for him. Because Jesus did it all for him and us and left nothing for us to have to do for ourselves. By saying, “It is finished” he let us know that we did not have to add to the work of salvation he had won for us. Yep, it’s that simple. It’s called grace. If you want to hear the rest of the story go here to hear Pastor Parsons' explanation. I just plagiarized the heck out of his sermon but he won’t mind. He plagiarizes the Bible every time I see him ;).

So I love it when the Biker Brothers of Mike’s drive by because it makes me think, “Mikey’s H O M E!!” And that gives me such peace. It always brightens my day. Pretty much every day until the snow flew last fall one of them rode by my house . . .Bear, Stinky, Dirty Mike, Stretch, Auggy, Chrome . . .too many to name here.

And now Spring is here and they are B A C K! Nugget, Chris and Stretch, Radar, Rooster and Lil Bit (she is soooo tiny) . . .

Thank you guys! You always put a smile on my face! May God bless you as you have blessed me! May you find comfort in the cross and the empty tomb this Easter weekend which gives us hope for eternity and the reunion with our loved ones!! Love you so much!

Blessings to you!