A
Hard Journey
He
will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or
mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. –
Revelation 21:4
A sweet
friend watches as her mother’s life slowly fades. She sees the signs and fights
for answers, miracles, another way. She knows God is in control and her
mother’s life is in His hands. But it’s still hard to let go and trust His
infinite wisdom when the result will break her heart.
We don’t know the day or time that death will
arrive; only that it will. I want to ease my friend’s pain and insist that
she’s wrong. I can’t. I’ve walked the path that she’s now on and, honestly,
it’s devastating. There’s nothing and no one who can prepare you for the
finality of death.
I know
someone reading this wants to remind me that because of Jesus, death really isn’t
final for those who believe. I know that. So does she. It’s something to cling
to when death has come and dealt its blow. But, still, there is pain. Always,
there is pain.
Perhaps it’s
better not to know the day and the hour. Perhaps it’s easier to pretend death
will never come. But how can we do that when death is all around us? How can we
ignore what is right in front of us?
Death comes
in a myriad of ways. Car accidents, heart attacks, cancer, age and disease. The
list never ends. We predict and we prepare only to learn that we never really
understood how unpredictable our days really are.
We always
think we’ve got more time. We truly believe tomorrow will come for us and those
we love. Until one day it doesn’t. Do you know Jesus? Is He Lord of your life
or are you merely going through the motions of faith? One day it will be too
late to decide.
There’s something
special about watching someone you love take their final breath on this earth and
knowing they have opened their eyes in Heaven. As hard as it is, there’s also a
peace and realization of what’s truly important.
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