A
Tribute To My Father
Rev. Alton W. Robbins
November
5, 1910 - March 21, 1996
[An annual "Come Spring Rehearsal"
was an idea born in my heart in Spring 1997.
May the Lord always use it for His glory.
God has prepared a beautiful eternal home for His children
and He still speaks to His children with a still small voice.
May the Lord touch your heart with His hope and love as you
read.]
"
COME SPRING REHEARSAL "
WITH FRIENDS OF LAREDO BORDER MISSIONS
and JACQUELINE ROBBINS PATE
Sunday,
March 23, 1997
COME SPRING REHEARSAL was an idea born in my heart out of a desire to visit with my brothers and sisters in Christ and rehearse all that God has done for us and how He has opened to us the door of faith, just as the early church did in Acts 14:27, "And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles." It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and bless His Holy Name, Jesus. He has done and is doing so much in each of our lives as we follow Him and listen for that still small voice in our midst. Praise the Lord, we have this door of faith through Jesus, the price he paid on Calvary, and the empty tomb!
It is a wonderful time of the year in which we celebrate Resurrection Day, springtime, because we have "newness of life" in Jesus's death, burial and resurrection. After a cold (and in some instances dreadful) winter, warmth again comes and nature breaks forth fresh, new, green, and colorful. I have awakened in the mornings, even before getting out of bed, to hear the beautiful singing of the birds outside my bedroom window and the Lord saying, "The time of the singing of the birds is come."
There is so much I could "rehearse" with you about what the Lord has done. I feel led to share the following part of my life with you. I hope you do not think it strange, but rather I hope it is an encouragement to you. A lot of things the Lord asks us to do is strange to the natural man, but living a Spirit-led life is not an ordinary experience. So I pray the Lord uses the following to minister to you.
As you know, my father went home to be with Jesus on March 21 last year. Many weeks before his homegoing, I heard in my spirit "I'll be gone to be with Jesus come spring." I heard this on two separate occasions while just walking through my home. I never told anyone until after Daddy's homegoing, because to be very honest I was not ready for him to leave, others might make light of it, maybe it was "just me."
In learning to hear the profound still small voice of the Lord in my life, 99% of the time the Lord speaks when I am not thinking about anything at all close to what He tells me. This makes His voice all the more real to me. Also in learning the voice of the Lord, as in all of our walk with Jesus, we may wonder "is it just me?" and so we wait and when He performs that word, then our faith is increased because we realize -- yes, He spoke. At that point, it matters not what others think, we know we heard the voice of the Lord.
So after hearing this the second time, in the same manner, I searched for a calendar that would tell me when Spring would come and see how long it would last. If in fact this was the Lord speaking, how much longer did I have with Daddy? When finding it was on March 20th, I tried not to think about it any more, constantly pushing it to the back of my mind. That was too close. Maybe it would be the very last day of spring. Oh, how our human reasonings and emotions rule us. But yet in my spirit I knew that I would have to "release" Daddy to the Lord. So, one night I painfully and tearfully did this while he was sleeping.
Daddy told us he had "more faith" he wanted to share and told us a story of feeding little baby sparrows when he was a small boy. On a few occasions, Daddy had mentioned to Mother and my husband that he was very tired and ready to go; but he never told his three girls. Like Apostle Paul, "For I am in a strait betwist two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you."
On the evening of March 20th, I sat down on the bed, put my arms around him while he was sleeping and told him I would be back to see him Sunday. I had suddenly come down with a cold that evening, almost losing my voice, feeling terrible, and knew that I should not be there. So the next day at home, I was in bed all day, taking medication, sleeping, until about 6:00 p.m. when I went downstairs. As I walked into the kitchen, I felt very strongly that I needed to draw a promise from the Promise Box, something I rarely do. I said, "this one's for me" and drew John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." Oh, okay Lord. This is good, I know that, thanks for reminding me. Then I decided to draw another one and said to myself, "this one's for Gentry" (my son) and drew Matthew 5:4, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." This really got my attention. A reverent awe and peace came over me. Oh Lord, are we getting close to the time? I laid them on the kitchen table because I knew the Lord had definitely spoken to me and to me it was sobering that He had chosen to speak this way. Then an hour or so later, Mother called and said: "Jackie, I believe your Daddy is gone."
Our Lord was so wonderful to give us His Word through that promise box. I believe too many times we take too lightly those gentle nudges of the Holy Spirit, do not do as He asks, and thereby miss His peace. I did not understand the peace that Jesus gave me at that time and even now. I truly experienced and now understand, although I cannot explain, "Peace that passes understanding." And when calling my son and giving him the message of his Grandpa's homegoing, I had the scripture the Lord had given for him which gave him great comfort. I cannot say it enough, seek Jesus daily and listen for His still small voice.
So on Sunday, we laid Daddy's body to rest. Yes, I did see him again "Sunday." A couple of the pictures I took of the flowery grave later that evening show light, as if moving, over the grave. When I saw these on the developed pictures, I sort of passingly said to some family members, "look, that could be Daddy." A few weeks later at church, our pastor was speaking of a dear saint that had recently gone to be with Jesus and said the same thing about a picture they had taken, describing it the same way and stating it was probably the spirit of the departed one. Some may say "oh that was just the camera or film." I do not believe that because firstly, it was established through the mouth of our pastor who knew nothing of it and secondly, I have used the camera for years and never has this occurred before or since. You would have to see the pictures. There is a lot we do not know and understand about the spirit world, but one thing's for sure, it is very real. Yes, there is everlasting life in Jesus Christ. And praise the Lord, these mortal bodies shall be raised incorruptible when He appears in the clouds, just as He went away as the cloud received Him out of the disciples' sight.
So those who have gone before, we will see again. What a day, glorious day that will be ! ! Do you realize that each Sunday, "the first day of the week" is literally a celebration of our Lord's Resurrection? If we remember this each Sunday as we go to places of worship, what a celebration! Celebrating our Lord's Resurrection each Sunday! What joy and peace Jesus has provided -- "Because I live, ye shall live also." Oh, how we will order our lives to be Holy, even as He is Holy, if this truly becomes a revelation!
Hallelujah ! Easter Is A Joyous Celebration !
May You Have A Very Blessed Holy Week and Resurrection Day As You Once Again Realize The Great Meaning Of The Springtime Season !
Celebrate ! Jesus Is Alive !
He Is Within Us A Well Of Living Water Springing Up Into Eternal Life Bringing Righteousness, Peace And Joy In The Holy Ghost !