Live or Die
When my mother was in her early 20's, my daddy was paralyzed in a roping accident. In that split second when he was thrown from his horse, everything changed. The future they both expected was gone. But they went on, living instead the life they had been given.
Some people turn their backs on God when disaster strikes. That's not what my parents did. They kept on loving God, serving God, and worshipping God. The family I grew up in was centered on the church. We didn't get up on Sunday morning and decide if we were going to church or not. We went. There was no discussion. Even though it was physically difficult (imagine loading up a wheelchair along with your little kids), we were always there. Although Mother and Daddy were not people who talked a lot about their faith, it was obvious in their lives.
Fast forward many years later. Daddy was gone and Mother was terribly sick. She couldn't understand why God wouldn't let her die, but she did believe that he still had something more for her to do. She wanted to go home and be with God, and she was not afraid of dying. We had many conversations about what heaven would be like and who would be there. She was ready. Her faith had seen her through a long life with many ups and downs. And now she was finally going to see the God she had worshipped her entire life.
When she died, we grieved our loss. But that grief was tempered with joy that she was finally where she had been headed her entire life. The struggles were over. The pain was over. The work was done.
"Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him." 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
Some people turn their backs on God when disaster strikes. That's not what my parents did. They kept on loving God, serving God, and worshipping God. The family I grew up in was centered on the church. We didn't get up on Sunday morning and decide if we were going to church or not. We went. There was no discussion. Even though it was physically difficult (imagine loading up a wheelchair along with your little kids), we were always there. Although Mother and Daddy were not people who talked a lot about their faith, it was obvious in their lives.
Fast forward many years later. Daddy was gone and Mother was terribly sick. She couldn't understand why God wouldn't let her die, but she did believe that he still had something more for her to do. She wanted to go home and be with God, and she was not afraid of dying. We had many conversations about what heaven would be like and who would be there. She was ready. Her faith had seen her through a long life with many ups and downs. And now she was finally going to see the God she had worshipped her entire life.
When she died, we grieved our loss. But that grief was tempered with joy that she was finally where she had been headed her entire life. The struggles were over. The pain was over. The work was done.
"Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him." 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
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