The Ring

Tomorrow, March 18, marks one month since Daniel passed away. Already. As much as I incredibly miss him, I am always intentional about also thinking about how much Heaven is a much better place for him -- the best place. God is so faithful in His comfort. God is teaching me that the importance of our relationships on Earth pale to the all-consuming importance of our relationship with Christ. When He calls us home, to be with Him is far better.


I've been enjoying this beautiful spring-like weather with Josiah and Kezia. We went for a walk with a friend and her kids yesterday on the dyke, and I took the kids to a favorite park last week, Cliff Park. Here are some snapshots:

 

As I often find myself reflecting on many of the special times I was blessed to have with Daniel, I wanted to share with you the story of my engagement ring. This photo was taken the day we got engaged, May 26, 2008.

The month prior to our engagement, Daniel and I went ring shopping. Once I picked out my favorites, we decided that Daniel would surprise me with the final choice. After settling on the store we wanted to purchase from, I went with my mom to pick out my top rings. Then Daniel and I went back so I could show him my favorites and tell him why I liked them. He had out his pen and paper and took notes, though he told me later that after I showed him the ring above he only pretended to take notes on the other rings. He knew that was the one.

The reason why is the story I want to share.

Daniel picked this ring because of the symbolism with which he invested it. It's a three-stone ring, one larger diamond flanked by two very small ones. When you look at the ring, the centre stone is by far what catches your eye first.

The centre stone represents Christ, while he and I are represented by the two small stones. Daniel wanted the ring to always remind us of the importance of living in such a way that Christ is the obvious centre of our lives and we take a backseat to Him.

Not only was the design of the ring significant, but he took it one step further. The actual diamonds he chose were important. Starting with the centre diamond, the sales associate brought one out and showed its quality to him under the microscope, but he rejected it because it wasn't clear enough. Then she had to take it back to the vault and sign another out. He did this several times, even to the point of annoying the associate! That was rather bold of Daniel, because if you knew him you know that he hated being a bother to anyone. He was adamant, however, that the centre diamond be as pure and clear as possible as it represented Christ.

In contrast, he specifically asked for the two small side stones to be flawed and marred, just as we are. He wanted the centre stone to be unrivaled in its beauty and resilience. He wanted it to be obvious which stone was the most important.

Throughout Daniel's journey through cancer, because he couldn't speak he would take my hand, point to my ring, and look into my eyes as if to say, "Remember."

I will.