So many times, we pray for complete healing of a loved one. What we mean by this prayer is that God would see fit to heal the person so their earthly life continues. What do you do when God chooses to heal that person completely but it doesn't extend their life here on earth? Those are the emotions I am dealing with today.
A sweet lady at my church has passed away from a six year fight with cancer. Ashley was only 23. Her age changes your view of this situation, doesn't it? Ashley lived only 23 years on this earth, yet she had a greater impact on the spiritual lives of those in her path than I have had in my 30+ years. There were only a few sparse moments of interaction with Ashley but I will forever be changed by them.
Ashley had a quiet peace that radiated from deep within her soul. It was contagious. Ashley beautifully exhibited what II Corinthians 4:16-18 says. "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day to day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
Never have I been around someone who showed so well the peace of knowing God. Ashley always had a smile on her face. She always asked about you, never talking about her pain. And you knew she was in severe pain whenever you saw her. The cancer was relentless.
Ashley is now completely healed, in the presence of the Lord. There is a part of me that hurts for her not being on earth anymore; we selfishly want our loved ones to stay with us. But there is a part of me that is jealous. She is with our precious Lord. There is no more struggling and disappointment, no more pain and longing. Ashley is enjoying the total peace and rest of knowing our Savior and Lord. Many times our temporal view can't see what glorious hope we have in our future with the Lord. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
There's a line in an Andrew Peterson song that says “There is more
More than all this pain,More than all the falling down,And the getting up again.” That describes what I feel about heaven these days. . .that I won't be continually stumbling through life, struggling to lay myself down and life Him up. Ashley was a beautiful example of that. Ad her pain is gone. There's joy and sadness at the same time.
Post a Comment