My Auntie Katie ran my Po Po’s obituary in the Arizona Daily Star today. Here’s a screenshot for posterity (click to view full size):
I had no idea they had been married for 63 years. I knew it was longer than 50 because I remember hearing about that a number of years ago, but I had no idea it had been 13 years since then. What a testimony to faithfulness, and an amazing example for all of their descendants! Thank you Gung Gung and Po Po for this example, and for crossing the finish line with the ability to say, “I did.”
I called my mom this around 7:30 this morning. She said Po Po died sometime between 5 and 6am.
This wasn’t a huge surprise, but it was sobering. She handed the phone to Gung Gung, and while not happy and enthusiastic, he still sounded resolute. There was a calm, a peace, a strength in his voice.
The one thing Gung Gung said that struck me was that it was Po Po who brought Christ and salvation into this family. Shame on me for forgetting that. But what a legacy she leaves behind! Both her kids, and all 5 of her grand children are Christians today, largely in part because of her example and decision to follow Christ. And that is precisely what gives all of us Hope for the future.
You may have noticed that I categorized this post under “Celebrations.” Please don’t misunderstand that categorization. I didn’t do that out of morbidity, but out of an Eternal Perspective in the grandest sense of the phrase. My grandmother has gone home to see her Father in Heaven. She no longer faces pain in her legs and back. She is no longer confined to a wheel chair. I’m sure she’s dancing in a way she hasn’t danced in years. She no longer faces the trials of living with an aging brain, knowing it’s failing but unable to do anything about it. And she no longer lives in a body wracked by the ravages of a sinful world. She is home!
And the hope for a future that my family and I have is that we will one day see her again. When that happens is all in God’s timing. It could be today; it could be tomorrow; for some, it might be 50 years or more in the future. But we will see her again. What a comfort! What a joy! What a peace!
Dear Po Po,
I am so excited for you. I can only imagine what you’re experiencing right now. The joy of seeing God face-to-face in a way that Moses could only dream of here on Earth. To experience Him and worship Him for all eternity is indeed a wonderful gift and blessing. We’ll miss you here on Earth, but I know we’ll see you soon.
Love,
Brian
Charlene and I have officially been married for 5 months. Incidentally, that also translates to 150 days. Funny how that works. I guess the 28 days of February combined with a few 31 day months means we’re at an average of 30 day/month exactly.
Anyways, congratulations, Char. We made it this far! Seems like yesterday we were trying to figure out what to have for dinner at the banquet, and dueling it out on the guest list.
Charlene took me out to Red Lobster in celebration of our milestone. It was very delicious. The service was a bit lacking, but I think the server was being overworked and had too many tables to focus on. He seemed like he was running in a thousand different directions at once.
I’m pretty sure I’ve officially decided that I don’t like eating crab from the shell. It’s too messy and time consuming. But I’ll take crab cakes any day. The shrimp, scallops, potatoes, rice, and broccoli were fabulous.
Oh, and those lobster tails they show in the commericals–it’s all marketing–pure and simple–well, maybe not pure but you know what I mean. The ones in the commercial are huge. The ones on the plate were tiny. They made crayfish tails look pretty sizable.
Thanks for dinner! It was delicious.
Today we once again celebrate our nation’s independence. Yesterday Chuck Colson had a great commentary on BreakPoint regarding today’s holiday. It was a great reminder about our nation’s history and the uniqueness of this country.
Enjoy the holiday, I know I will.
Yesterday, I left you a challenge to find me in Liz and Amish’s wedding photos. Give up? Here are two hints. Does that help?
No? OK. Here’s some more assistance:
First link. Bottom photo. Left side. Aisle seat. Second from the back. White shirt. Get it?
Second link. Behind Liz. Right. Guy with the yellow tie*. Back. Right. Glasses. White shirt**. Got it?
Good for you. That’s me!
*Incidentally, the guy with the yellow tie is our friend Tim Choi. He and his fiancee, Edith, were engaged a couple weeks before we were, so they’re next. They’ll be married in September.
**I don’t know about you, but in this picture, it looks like I’m wearing a yellow/gold vest. What do you think?
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Charlene and I had the privilege of attending the wedding of Liz and Amish. Lucky for us, Lynn didn’t take too long to post these. Maybe it was the long three day weekend. They’re beautiful pictures as always. I like how they also took photos at Stanford, and yet they have a very different flavor than ours did.
I love the ring picture. It would’ve been cool if he had a candle in the background for a fire and ice theme, but I love the picture regardless.
Great job as always, Lynn!
P.S. Do you see yours truly in any of the photos? Obviously, these aren’t my photos, so I’m kinda obscure, but if you look really closely you can see me in two of the pictures.
Charlene and I are headed off to Tiff and Don’s wedding tomorrow morning. We’re driving from SLO to Orange County/Irvine. Long trip, but looking forward to seeing everyone in the family.
Congratulations, Tiff and Don. I guess that’s one less Ms. Wong in the family 
But a new cousin-in-law added 
Charlene and I have a really packed weekend. We’re heading to SLO for the CCF Alumni Reunion BBQ. Sunday morning, we’re leaving the CCFAF festivities, and heading down to LA/Orange County for Tiffany and Don’s wedding. Monday morning we wake up super early, and catch a flight out of Long Beach back here to the Bay Area. So fortunately, we have most of the day on Monday to rest and relax. But it’s going to be craziness.
I’m just glad that for the next two weekends after that, we’re taking it easy. Praise God for rest!
Charlene and I have the pleasure of attending Liz and Amish’s wedding today. I don’t know them really really well, but before we were married, Charlene and Liz were room mates. So they know each other pretty well. They even shared a bathroom! Talk about intimacy
But now Charlene has a new room mate, and starting today, Liz will as well.
Congratulations, Liz and Amish! We’re excited for you, and welcome to the club.
Updated 5/21/2009: Updated links to Lynn’s new blog.
Hard to believe, but as of today Charlene and I have been married for 2 months.
We’ll be going out to the site of our first date: Cheesecake Factory for dinner.
I love you, Charlene. Here’s to many more months and years to come.
I had no idea they had been married for 63 years. I knew it was longer than 50 because I remember hearing about that a number of years ago, but I had no idea it had been 13 years since then. What a testimony to faithfulness, and an amazing example for all of their descendants! Thank you Gung Gung and Po Po for this example, and for crossing the finish line with the ability to say, “I did.”
