Happy 28th Birthday Lindsay!

Lindsay Christine Cutshall was born 28 years ago today... and, if they were still here today on this earth, she and Jason would be celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary on Friday. So this is, undoubtedly, a painful and emotionally raw time for their families. While time does lessen the shock of what happened to some extent... the pain will always still be there. But God is GOOD! God has found so many incredible ways to touch people's lives through the way Lindsay and Jason lived their lives for Him! I am often moved to tears by the stories I receive from people who find and read this blog. It's such a strange thing for me... because I never imagined that I would be in this position, writing a memorial blog for a dear friend I shared my childhood with (as well as for his beloved fiance). I wish they were still here! But I feel blessed and honored to maintain this in their memory. It has been therapeutic for me in so many ways! And I have grown so much spiritually... in my relationship with God and in my understanding of Him. I am so blessed and humbled that other people read this blog to learn more about Jason & Lindsay and the love that they had for the Lord!

In honor of Lindsay's birthday, I asked her family if they would share their thoughts. This is from her father:

Some would say that if Lindsay was still alive she would have been 28-years-old today. But I say that Lindsay IS alive and that she IS 28-years-old today. She was born 28 years ago, and she is still alive. In fact, she is more alive today than she has ever been before. 2 Corinthians 5:4-5 says, "For indeed while we are in this (earthly) tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge." A little more than five years ago, Lindsay and Jason were "swallowed up by life." So I can truthfully say that Lindsay IS 28 today. I don’t know how that translates into eternity; I just know that she is alive! She and Jason, together at once, went to sleep in the Lord and woke up in life eternal and knew themselves to be more alive than we can imagine.

So Kathy and I want to say, "Happy birthday, Lindsay! You ARE 28 today and you are exalted far above your dad and mom! When we think of you, which is every day, we think of you as Jude 24-25 describes you: "Now to Him who is able to keep you (Lindsay, and Jason) from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." Lindsay, you ARE 28 today, and we are so proud of you for being devoted to the One who made you stand in His glorious presence blameless with great joy! Our missing you is nearly unbearable at times, but we are pleased and proud of you beyond measure, and we give your great God glory, honor and praise! We love you, Lindsay! And we love you, Jason!"

I have to say, one of the biggest things that God has shown me throughout all of this is a massive change of my perspective on life! Not just life here on this planet, but ETERNAL life. God really opened my eyes to the PROMISE of Heaven! It dawned on me that Jason & Lindsay never actually ceased to exist. The moment they died, they were in the presence of the ONE and ONLY Holy God! That is what Lindsay's father is talking about. They are more alive now than ever before because they are in Heaven... and there is NO better place to be!

Lindsay's brother-in-law Ben Croghan (who is married to her only sibling/sister) wrote this in her memory:

Lindsay

Healing seems to take time
With pain ever present
The scars remind

Of times from the past
Memories so raw
Oh Lord sustain us, through it all

We’ve lost someone dear
Without replace
We long for her, reunited embrace

Hearts weigh heavy
No despair
Our Faith is strong, in Your gentle Care

"Weep, but briefly, for your loved ones as they enter into the Kingdom of God. For they shall possess a joy and peace that is unattainable on God’s earthly realm. Rather, rejoice in their everlasting and total happiness, for their eyes have seen God."

Happy 28th Birthday Lindsay! ♥