Luke's Bench in the Lightbox

It's here... + It can be seen from space too!

  It has been an extremely emotional past few days for us.  Luke's bench is completed and has arrived in its new home inside the lightbox at Heartland.  While I have been eager yet anxious about seeing it for first time, I really did not know how to prepare my heart for the experience.  I took the day off from work so Joe and I could see it together for the first time on Friday and it was nothing short of pure emotion for us.  Walking up to the lightbox and letting our eyes rest upon it there in the shade, the only words that were able to be formulated were "yes," "wow" and "thank you."  Its milky gray color possesses depth and contrast just like a real cloud would while its thickness denotes stability and permanency.  Its gentle curves and lines reflect a comfort and softness not usually associated with concrete and its shape is restful for the eye to behold.  Needless to say, we are thrilled beyond words with how it turned out and we absolutely love it.

We were able to have some private time that day in the lightbox where we sat, admired, explored and discovered its reality and completeness.  It was thrilling to be able to touch it and sit on it after holding it in our mind's eye for so many months.  Our hearts were quivering as we prayed together and thanked God for all he had done for us to bring us to that day.  It is such a powerful memorial and marker for us regarding this journey we have been on and we are determined to always let it be a visible reminder of God's power over our lives.  Lots of tears later, we took some photos, shot some video footage and sat there quietly together thinking of and missing Luke and wishing he was there with us to see his beautiful bench.   

Joe took some time later that afternoon and created this beautiful video set to a song that has been an important part of our journey both together as a couple and with Luke.  There have been times where I have listened to it, sang along at the top of my lungs feeling strengthened by the powerful lyrics, and there have been times where when I listened, the tears just poured down my cheeks as I drove- times where I could barely even mouth the words let alone sing them.  It is a song written and preformed by our friend Jon Shirley and is also one of the ones we asked him to sing at Luke's Honoration service.  You can read all about Luke's Honoration service here.  (You can also find Jon's music on iTunes)

...the LORD said to Joshua, "... tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place..." He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear [revere] the LORD your God.
                                                     - Joshua 4: 3, 24

The book of Joshua has been an absolute touchstone for me during this season.  My journal is packed with passages and reflections and prayers stemming from this book about battles and fears and enemies and promised lands.  I may write more about that later, but the above verses echo our true feelings about what Luke's bench represents for us.  If you choose to read the verses in context, you will see that God was wanting his people to build a tangible memorial while in the midst of their journey to their promised land.  This memorial, made thanks to the assistance of many, had the sole purpose of helping them remember His power and faithfulness for bringing them through a very scary and never before experienced event- the crossing of the Jordan River at flood stage.  I'm sure the Israelites felt feelings when standing on the banks of that raging river similar to how Joe and I felt upon learning we were going to lose Luke- scared, facing so many unknowns while often paralyzed and filled with doubts and fears.  However, this side of the past eleven months, we can see with rich clarity that God was with us every step of this journey.  He was guiding, protecting, loving, providing, leading and strengthening us every inch of way.  He caught every tear and did not let us falter or fall away.

This bench is the memorial we have built (with the help of so many of you) to help us always remember how he loved us, blessed us with a beautiful son and brought us across our own Jordan River at flood stage.  We thank you, Lord, and with every glimpse of this beautiful bench, we will always remember.

*To everyone who helped to make this memorial for Luke possible, we thank you with all of our hearts.  

With Gratitude,

Joe and Sarah

p.s. The bride and groom flamingos seen in the video were part of a special wedding taking place at Heartland that night.  While they do not normally "live" in the lightbox, they bring a smile to our face every time we watch the video.  Congratulations to the beautiful bride and groom!  We are so happy that Luke's bench was a small part of your big day.