I was sitting thinking last week. The Lord has been preparing me for a REALLY LONG TIME for a season of loss.
Last week, during one of the times where I am quiet but my mind is busy, somehow, Death snuck in and I started thinking of what that really is for a Believer.
Anytime the Lord talks to me about this particular thing, He uses the words 'passing' and 'transition'. Neither of those words implies finality. Passing implies goin' to another place. Transition implies moving to something new. And it dawned on me that literally, that is all that death really is. Those two words sum up death for a Believer. We leave our families and all, but we are far from 'dead'. Indeed, we finally graduated. We get to move on into the true promised land of Heaven...
Lately the Lord has used the word 'bittersweet' with me as well, and that evening I started to understand it. The bitter part will be for us - the ones who stay. The hurt, the fear, the loss, the loneliness, the emptiness. All that accompanies someone we love leaving us. All the life changes that come as part of the physical death of the body. That part will be bitter. Extremely bitter. But oh, the sweetness. It will be REALLY sweet. As I was sitting, all of a sudden I felt a joy come over my spirit. In an instant, transition made sense to me. I thought 'What a cool reward. They get to be finished. They get everything they've worked so hard for. They get to be with Jesus. They will be happy. Their body will be made well. Their race is finished; they get to rest.' And I was happy for them. I thought, how sweet it'll be for them to be able to just rest. I know how hard I've worked and how much I long to be done already, sometimes, and that they get the privilege of being done already is just absolutely mindblowing. So the sweet? Yeah, it'll be really sweet.
My heart is happy for them; sad for me, maybe, but happy for them.
I hope that when this word comes to pass, I will remember all that they are gaining - even as I work through the pain of them leaving. I hope that even as I weep for myself and our family, I will rejoice for them and truly celebrate because they were allowed to enter into sweet sweet rest.
And I hope that when it comes time for people to prepare for me to leave, they will do the same for me; I hope that they will rejoice with me and be excited for my new beginning.
Last week, during one of the times where I am quiet but my mind is busy, somehow, Death snuck in and I started thinking of what that really is for a Believer.
Anytime the Lord talks to me about this particular thing, He uses the words 'passing' and 'transition'. Neither of those words implies finality. Passing implies goin' to another place. Transition implies moving to something new. And it dawned on me that literally, that is all that death really is. Those two words sum up death for a Believer. We leave our families and all, but we are far from 'dead'. Indeed, we finally graduated. We get to move on into the true promised land of Heaven...
Lately the Lord has used the word 'bittersweet' with me as well, and that evening I started to understand it. The bitter part will be for us - the ones who stay. The hurt, the fear, the loss, the loneliness, the emptiness. All that accompanies someone we love leaving us. All the life changes that come as part of the physical death of the body. That part will be bitter. Extremely bitter. But oh, the sweetness. It will be REALLY sweet. As I was sitting, all of a sudden I felt a joy come over my spirit. In an instant, transition made sense to me. I thought 'What a cool reward. They get to be finished. They get everything they've worked so hard for. They get to be with Jesus. They will be happy. Their body will be made well. Their race is finished; they get to rest.' And I was happy for them. I thought, how sweet it'll be for them to be able to just rest. I know how hard I've worked and how much I long to be done already, sometimes, and that they get the privilege of being done already is just absolutely mindblowing. So the sweet? Yeah, it'll be really sweet.
My heart is happy for them; sad for me, maybe, but happy for them.
I hope that when this word comes to pass, I will remember all that they are gaining - even as I work through the pain of them leaving. I hope that even as I weep for myself and our family, I will rejoice for them and truly celebrate because they were allowed to enter into sweet sweet rest.
And I hope that when it comes time for people to prepare for me to leave, they will do the same for me; I hope that they will rejoice with me and be excited for my new beginning.
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