October 24, 2014 Dad, Mom, and I and their dog Minnie took the boat out and went down to the dam for the first time. Because it was a Friday in the fall and cold to southern standards, the only others on the lake were a couple of fisherman and some water birds. It was beautiful and peaceful.
On the way home I wakeboarded (is that a word?). It was only my second day ever, yet I got right up! I boarded much of the way home until I wiped out and my shaking legs wouldn’t let me up again. Dad kept turning around to watch and cheer me one which caused his steering to be less than straight. We laughed. We came home exhausted. It was the perfect day.
The next day Dad’s perfect weekend continued as he entered heaven.
Today is Dad’s first birthday in heaven. Today is a day of remembrance for the rest of us. A day to celebrate his life and praise God that we were a part of it. Every day this year I have missed him. It gets easier, but I will never not miss him. His laugh. His encouragement. His pride in his family. His joy. His protection. His childlike spirit. His hands and his hugs.
But I rejoice.
I had those things. I had the horses because they were his dream. I have courage to live my dreams and adventures; because I had his blessing and backing. I had his hand to hold especially in Disney. Mom and my seven siblings and multiple nieces, nephews, and cousins know what I mean. So do the hundreds of friends and lives he touched.
Earlier this year God comforted me by telling me what a light Dad had been in his lifetime. On October 25, 2015 Dad received his reward.
Today we celebrate.
We celebrate with Pop-Tarts! Across the US the Stephens Clan is eating Pop-Tarts with peanut butter, Dad’s favorite treat. My Fusion Family is joining in in Belize.
Today I lit a candle and read the Mourner’s Kaddish to praise God. Today I remember Dad and recommit to living life big, generous, and full of joy and love because that is the legacy of Jim Stephens, my dad.
A Messianic Mourner’s Kaddish (Hymn of Praise)
(This modified Jewish prayer is said in memorial of the dead in Messiah Yeshua and in glory to the Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.)
Magnified and sanctified be His great Name in the world which He created according to His will. May He establish His Kingdom during your lifetime and during the lifetime of all the house of Israel, and the nations, speedily, yes soon, and say, amen.
Let His great Name be blessed forever and for all eternity, and say, amen.
Blessed, praised, and glorified, exalted, extolled and honored, magnified and lauded be the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He; though He is high above all the blessings and hymns, praises and songs which are uttered in the world, and say, amen.
May the prayers and supplications of all Israel, and the nations, be accepted by our Father Who is in heaven, and say, amen.
He Who makes peace in the heavenly realms, may He make peace for us and for all Israel, and the nation, and say, amen.
May the Omnipresent console you among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem, and say, amen.
May they blossom forth from the city like the grass of the earth. Remember that we are but dust, and say, amen.
May He swallow up death forever, and may Yahwah wipe away tears from every face and remove the scorn of His people from throughout the world, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken, and say, amen.
Blessed are You, O Lord, Who has given us the way of salvation in Messiah Yeshua. He walked among us filled with Your Spirit, the only one who ever fulfilled Your Torah. He rose from the dead and opened the way to life everlasting, praise His Name. We are in Him, His Spirit empowers; new life is ours with joy and peace. Blessed are you, O Lord, our God, who has given us Messiah Yeshua our King, and say, amen.
Halibut fishing in Alaska, 2011
