Three sisters sat around a hospital bed reminiscing about their childhood. Their mother lay on the bed listening to everyone and at the same time, transitioning from this mortal world and into the spiritual. Of course, they would mourn her passing, but at the moment they were rejoicing in her life and their history with her while growing up.
I sat and watched this beautiful scene with tears in my eyes. Like my mom, who was already with Jesus since 2004, Charlotte was a wonderful mother who had lived a hard but faithful and serving life for her children. As laughter permeated the room it no doubt filtered into the hallway, as passerby’s probably thought the three sisters were crazy and insensitive to their mother’s passing. One even shut the door. I felt it was like an old Irish wake, celebrating life instead of mourning death. To me, it was biblical.
A very wise man once said, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” This same wise man also said, among other things, that there was, “A time to be born, and a time to die. . .” -- Solomon [Ecclesiastes 3:1, 2 KJV]
So many people generate problems for themselves trying to redeem the time and attempt to dwell in a past season instead of embracing the current time in their life. The objective is to live through each season, differentiating and working through both the good and the bad moments of each current season, and then to move on [Ecclesiastes 11:7, 8].
Each season in one’s life presents its own challenges, victories, and growth possibilities, and as we live in each moment we can treat it in such a way as to attain growth in our lives [Ecclesiastes 3:11]. However, unless God is involved in each season of our lives, then what we are going through and what we are trying to accomplish, is nothing more than a house of cards [Psalms 127:1, 2].
Death is a season of life and as such it is just the beginning of a longer journey. Charlotte and others before her are on that journey now clearing the way for our own entrance in the Kingdom of God. God is preparing a place for us as we speak. It has many mansions (John 14:2). Death does not mean the end of things or that it is the end of the road, nor is it something that becomes the past needing us to forget.
On the contrary, shedding this corporeal body is not just a season that ends up in the past and forgotten, but in reality it has just moved to our future because one day, we will see them all again when Christ comes for our own Spirit [Ecclesiastes 12:7].
So yes mom and Charlotte, we will see you again. Oh, and by the way Charlotte, I remember the time when we were at your home and . . .
2 comments:
You stated, "So many people generate problems for themselves trying to redeem the time and attempt to dwell in a past season instead of embracing the current time in their life. The objective is to live through each season, differentiating and working through both the good and the bad moments of each current season, and then to move on [Ecclesiastes 11:7, 8)."
I say, ---- Many people attempt to dwell in the past and try to redeem that time because of bad things that have happened to them. The only way to move on is to ask God for help through forgiveness and to make amends to those who have either harmed you or to those you have harmed. Either way you cannot move forward in life until that is done. It stunts your spiritual life.
For me, I should be further along in my spiritual life than I am now because I did not ask for forgiveness from those I did wrong, or I did not forgive those who did me wrong.
My spiritual life is dramatically improving each day since I have gone back in my life to take care of all that hurt. Healing is coming about much faster and I am a happier person as a result.
Forgiveness both ways is the key.
A wonderful post, Jim. It can be very healing to remember past times after a loved one dies. Yes, we all have troubling and painful memories but we have good ones too and we can express gratitude for both kinds since we needed them all to become the persons God intended us to be.
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