Death

Julia and Anthony have been helping out a somewhat house bound lady that we know who lived close by.  Her husband works with mine at the same ministry.  Julia would clean her house every other week and Anthony would mow her lawn.  I sometimes would take her to her doctors appointments and then we'd go out for a milk shake and chat.  She had a cute little dog that would jump up in her lap and he was her baby.

We got a call the day before Christmas that she died suddenly in her sleep.  We all stood there stunned. She was always so joyful, not at all sickly.  She had a hard time getting around and sometimes had trouble with her memory.  She had pain but never much mentioned it.  None of us thought she was close to death.  It never crossed my mind.  She was only 64.

As I sat at her Memorial this week, I couldn't hold back the tears.  We started by singing a few songs and I realized I was a wreck.  We sang songs like Be Thou My Vision, Better is One Day, and 10,000 Reasons.   I was really surprised by how emotional I was?

  I think the significance of living life and then leaving life if so strange.  I mean it's beautiful to think about heaven and her life now. . . and a life well lived is so meaningful as well, but being here one day and then gone the next is so strange.  It's so sad.  I've always hated goodbyes and have avoided them all my life.  If you are a good friend and are moving far away where I might not see you much, you won't find me on the front lines saying farewell.  I'm just so uncomfortable with that.  So Wednesday at her Memorial, I had to say goodbye.  I'd rather not have had to but I didn't have a choice. My natural reaction was to cry.

Then as we watched a slide show of her life, a friend sang, Give Me Jesus by Jeremy Camp.  Isn't Jesus really what life and death is all about?  Perspective is always so good for me.  I'm a "here and now" kind of person.  It's difficult for me to see in to the future, to hope for the best.  God has to remind me so often that life is short and so much of the daily grind is not eternal.  When he pulls me out of the  "here and now" so I can see ahead, I find that when I look back, all that will matter is how I lived it for Him.  Give me Jesus!


When I come to die
When I come to die
Oh, when I come to die
Give me Jesus

Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You can have all this world
Just give me Jesus


  Here is a link to the song in case you want to listen:

http://www.elyrics.net/read/j/jeremy-camp-lyrics/give-me-jesus-lyrics.html

Kristin