God – Thanks for the widows we adore and for the wreath which hangs on our door.

This wreath came from the widow we adore. She is Barbara, my sister in law. Like widows around the world, she lost her true love Gordon in the summer of 2017. This is the second Christmas without him. Although the glimmer of Christmas joy dimmed with Gordon’s passing, she has kept on living and kept on giving of herself to others.

Her husband was my brother-in-law Gordon. In the strength You gifted Barbara, every day before he died, she made sure that Gordon lived a more complete and meaningful life even as he lost each toe, foot, leg, and organ to Agent Orange.

Sadly, I am unable to place Gordon under Barbara’s Christmas tree this year. But, in prayer I can place the praise I have for her in the manger of her heart and mine.

God, below I am reposting my previous prayer for Gordon in hopes that those who read it will see the power of Your abiding love and blessings which flow from Barbara and widows everywhere. Their healing works hang in our hearts with beauty as the wreath on our front door.
God, please strengthen Barbara and all widows on the Earth by filling the vacuum left in the wake of husbands departed with Your Grace and Your Holy, Healing, Comforting Spirit. Amen.

Prayer in Memory Carl Gordon Lansford.

Lord, please read these words to Gordon from me.

Dear Gordon,
My brother-in-law,
My brother in Christ,
I give thanks to God for you.

I am so proud of you.
At age 18 you fought so bravely in the Vietnam War.
America did not win that war.
But, you won three Purple Hearts.
Those symbols of courage were not enough
For the VFW Chapter in your town
To let you in when you came home.
Yet, thanks be to God,
There was always room in the inn of His heart for you.

As a decorated soldier, you fought your greatest battle
After you set foot again on American soil.
You courageously and optimistically faced, one by one,
The ravages of Agent Orange.
The amputation of your legs.
The loss of feeling in your hands and arms.
Kidney failure.
Scarred lungs.
Dialysis.
Doggedly fighting for the healthcare and governmental benefits
Every uniformed American soldier should be awarded
As a tribute for service to our Country.

As with my own bride, Dorothy,
God sent you an angelic wife, Barbara.
He made sure that when there was less and less of you in the physical,
There was more of more of God’s Grace and love in the spiritual
In Barbara’s inexhaustible devotion and care for you.

Today,
Gordon, you lost the final battle
Which you and none of us can ever win.
Yet, you received victory of eternal life over death
Because the God you served
Made the ultimate and greatest sacrifice for you.

God’s purpose for your creation has been fulfilled.

I pray that you enjoy the Heavenly peace,
The freedom of pain,
The joy,
You have so long deserved.

Peace. Love. The Light of Christ to you.

Amen.

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Jack H. Emmott is a Senior Counsel of Gray, Reed & McGraw, LLP, a 120-lawyer full service firm in Houston, Texas, a Board-Certified Family Law and Master Credentialed Collaborative Law Professional Divorce Attorney, Mediator, Author, Entrepreneur and Inspirational Speaker. For more information about Jack or his latest book, Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love, go to the Bending Angel website.