Last Sunday was the 10^th anniversary of my father’s passing. My father was a rugged man. When I was a younger, my friends and I would get into the “whose father was the strongest competition.” My dad would win hands down.

He had nine lives until a surgery on his hip left him crippled. My dad ended up in a wheel chair. “He was a man of steel, he was not supposed to end this way,” I often thought.

But I know God had a plan. This knowledge has given me great deal of comfort. God tells us, “Be still and know I am God.” One of the translations of the verse compares it to God giving us a timeout.

God knew my dad’s time was coming, for his name was written in the Book of Life. God also knew the only way to make my dad “Be still” was to take his feet out from underneath him. This was God’s way of getting him prepared for eternity. I smile when I think of some of the conversation my dad and God had before he was called home. I think dad was grateful God made him “Be still.”

A few years later God would make me “Be still”, when I went to prison. I believe it was God’s way of preparing me for the work He has ahead for me. Just like my father, God knew the only way to slow me down was to take my feet out from underneath of me.

How awesome it is, the God who created the universe loves us enough to take the time to get us ready for what lies ahead. I thank God everyday for giving me and my father a chance to get prepared. The Bible tells us, “After you have suffered awhile, make you perfect, settle you.”If you have lost someone you love please be reassured God loved them enough to get them prepared.