The Anchor Holds

The following is the letter Heather and I included in the order of service for Jacob's funeral. This may seem like an odd time of year to bring this out, but our hope is found in that babe in the manger, and through the Lord Jesus we survived our tragic loss. Perhaps someone might be encouraged by these hard won words.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The Lord Jesus, prophesying Peter’s death, said to him in John 21:18b that “…another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” Jesus’s words strike home with us because we have come down a road we would not have chosen, to a place we do not wish to be. But having arrived at this place and looking back, we can see with certainty the work of Jesus in our lives. It was He who girded us with His grace and gave us strength, and increased our faith. And it was He who carried us in his hand through places our own strength could never have managed. And it was He who placed us so carefully in the midst of such a host of loving friends who have brought the Body of Christ so wonderfully to life on our behalf.  And finally, it is He in whom or hope resides.

While our grief knows no bounds, neither does our hope in Jesus, and we know that as we speak, Christ is giving Jacob a hero’s welcome in Heaven. His ears are no doubt still ringing with “Well done my good and faithful servant.” Jacob ran the race and finished his course. He fought the good fight and kept his faith. In our eyes he is a hero. In our eyes he is the most noble, most courageous, most faithful man, young or old, we have ever known. God honored and blessed us by choosing us to be the parents of Jacob Alan Durham.

God gave Jacob a measure of wisdom and faith beyond his years, and during some of his most difficult and trying days, he would often say to us “God is in control, and He never gives us more than we can handle.” We shall hide these words in our hearts as we face the coming days made dimmer by his absence. Yet, we take comfort in knowing we shall see Jacob again, and that his life was well spent in the service of the Lord Jesus.

We know that many lives have been touched by Jacob’s faith and courage, and it is our hope that in the coming days some of you will share with us by letter or card some of your remembrances of Jacob. Perhaps then we can comprehend just a portion of what God meant when he said in Isaiah 11:6 “… and a little child shall lead them.”

We close with the words of Paul to the Philippians when he says to them that “Nevertheless, you have done well that you shared in (our) distresses.” God bless you all as you have ministered to us in our greatest need.

The Anchor Holds,

Alan, Heather, and Allie Grace Durham