It seems a little strange that the hardest thing to ever happen to me is something I can’t share with my dad.
I have no regrets over our life together. I only mourn for the now – for the earthly future that I can no longer share with him. I mourn for the little moments, scattered throughout the day. The treasure of being together. The gift of his humor, his advice, his thoughtfulness, his love.
He has always been there to help me in his quiet, gentle, yet incredibly strong way. And I miss that. More than I can bear some moments.
I think many of us have a Stan shaped hole in our hearts.
And yet, even in death, he is still teaching me, still reminding me. He is still pointing me back to the eternal, when my heart is aching from the earthly. So here I am, reading his old sermons. I’ve already read through the ones on the problem of pain and suffering. Now, I’m working through funerals and heaven. And I found this:
Without heaven, earth does not make sense. Its sorrows, its heartbreaks would be unbearable. But do not confuse God with life. Life is tough, and life is unfair. God is good. We don’t have the ability to grasp explanations of life’s most perplexing events; so we have instead two blessings – a God we can trust, and a heaven to make up for it all! ~ Stan Mitchell
You and I are longing for heaven. It feels somehow closer than before, and so we sigh and long for it. And in the meantime, we trust a God who is thoroughly, beautifully, and inexplicably trustworthy.
Wattsup With Kids 
Such special words that you are gleaning from your Dad’s writings. You are blessed with a Daddy that could speak and write his thoughts for you to hang on to and to comfort you. Your children are also blessed because he will influence their lives through you. Thank you for expressing your thoughts and pain. I pray that being able to write will give you some comfort.
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Beautiful and helpful. You are learning a hard lesson, but it is
one that will keep you feet steady on the path to heaven and your heart
and eyes focused on God.
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How blessed you are to have him still speaking to you through his many writings. Thank you for letting us share some of your heartache through your beautiful words. Love you, auntie char
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Love you Tracy, you are an amazing ,young lady,
And I know how proud your Dad was and still is proud,
Of all you you have and will do! And we do have a Stan
Mitchell hole in our hearts!
Love you ! 💕😘🙏
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