Goodbye Friend

As many of you know, my friend Linda has been struggling with Cancer for the most of this last year. She lost her battle Saturday morning. No one has ever fought as courageous a battle as she. She will be laid to rest this afternoon.

She was a vital part of our ladies class at our church, so as you might well imagine, she was on our minds heavily as we thought of her Sunday morning. She wanted no tears from us and the last thing she told her sister-in-law was that she was going to beat her to Heaven. She maintained her sense of humor til the very end. She had every right to also. She knew exactly where she was going as she took those final steps in her transition from this world to the next.

We as mortals, however, are sad that we will no longer see her smiling face. We will miss the hugs and words of encouragement she was so well known for. And we know that we are being selfish in our desire to keep her with us when we all knew so well how she had suffered. So we tried to rejoice and talk about the love we had for her and she for us.

At some point in our lives, we are all afraid of dying. When I was younger, I worried about what would happen to my small children if I wasn't around to see to it they went to church. I wondered who would see to it they went to school and had clean clothes. Most of us mothers don't think anyone can take care of our children like we would.

Now that my children are grown, I don't have that fear any more, I simply want to know they are in a good relationship with God. I know they can take care of their children.

I guess we don't really know if we are afraid of dying until we are faced with that prospect. And when faced with that five years ago, I wasn't afraid. I think as we mature, we know whether we will be able to spend time in Abraham's bosom while waiting for judgment or if we'll end up in the Hadean realm like the rich man.

I know that Linda is waiting in Abraham's bosom for those of us who knew her, and will be standing there to welcome us into that comfort.

Do you think anyone has ever left this world without knowing which side of that great gulf they'll be waiting on? Do you think anyone has ever began that journey with a question in their minds? We won't know the answer until we actually take that step.

Goodbye my friend. I'll miss you and look forward to seeing you again.

Are you afraid of dying? If so, why?

Have a great Monday. Do something silly. Make someone laugh.