May 25, 2025
My sister died in February this year. I was blessed to be able to care for her the last few months of her suffering. I told her everyday that I loved her, and while she was able to speak, she reciprocated the sentiment. We both knew it, yet it was nice to give voice to that love.
We were also able to pray together. We prayed for healing. We prayed against the diagnosis of terminal lung cancer. She never smoked a day in her life, but it didn’t matter, cancer grew in her lungs then spread. All our friends and family prayed for Elizabeth’s healing. Women at church prayed for her. Still God decided to take her home.
One of my friend’s wisely said, even though Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Lazarus is not alive now. We all must die in this body, whether we get one hour or one hundred years, the outcome is the same. At our end the only thing that matters is if we knew Jesus. Did we place our faith in him? Did we try to live as he lived. Did we love others as He loved them? Did we forgive others as He forgave us? Did we extend grace and mercy to others as God extended it to us through his Son?
The other thing guaranteed in this life is that we will sin, we will stumble, but He lifts us up if we look up at Him. My own personal experience is that sometimes I will look to Him right away and He helps me. Other times I seem to wallow in my struggle before I come to the end of me and look to Jesus. However, unfaithful I am, He is always faithful. Jesus is a gentleman, and He waits for me to reach out, and when I do, His hand extends to grab mine.
Some people get stuck in grief when they lose a loved one. They get angry at God or walk away from Him, at least for a time. My personal response is that I cling harder to God. I couldn’t get through my sorrow without Him. I wouldn’t get out of bed to face the day, or meet people, or attend celebrations of life, or funeral services. Even in my normal days, I cannot imagine life without God, but when I grieve, I need him more. And He is there.
My mantra to survive becomes: “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) He does give me strength.
I will see Elizabeth again. She placed her faith in Jesus years before me. She was instrumental in bringing me to Christ and I will thank her when I get to heaven. That is our blessed hope in Jesus.
I know the character of my God, and that is that He is good. The Word of God, the Bible, and Jesus, say it is true, and I have experienced this for myself. God is good, even in my grief.