I apologize friends that I did not continue blogging each day of advent. As some of you may know if you follow me on twitter or read my last couple of posts: my grandmother passed away on December 19th. To say the news saddened me is an understatement. When my mom died back in 2008 I was sad, but my grandmother: my mamaw passing broke my heart. The last time I saw mamaw was August 23rd of this year. I was near where she lived for my graduation from PA school and I was told that her caretakers were out of town and she was staying in the hospice unit of the hospital. As I wrote before: her illness was not physical as much as mental. She had alzheimer's disease that had progressed and she couldn't be left alone. The time was a blessing. I got to talk with her, got to hear her ask me not to "play with her memory" and I even got to comfort her and feed her. I knew it was the last time I was going to see her and she was kind enough to bless me with this picture:
While I will cherish this picture. This is not my mamaw. She looks frail and small in this photo. I look like a giant leaning over her bed. The most recent good picture I have of mamaw is from 2004:
This is how I remember her. She also kept here hair nice, and wore bright color clothing.
Her hair has been white as long as I have known her.
Her smile here looks half hearted but I know that it is real from the look in her eyes.
In the last 10 days those close to me have offered kind words:
"I'm sorry for your loss."
"She's in a better place"
"let me know if you need anything."
"praying for you."
and the kindness that these words represent has been amazing.
Something we must remember friends is seen in Wisdom 1:13 "Because God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in destruction of the living." It goes on to tell us in verse 16 : "It was the wicked who with hands and words invited death, considered it a friend, and pined for it, and made a covenant with it..." Friends: God creates life not death. So why is there death? Death is a consequence of sin. Not one persons sin in particular but rather is a consequence of sin. Again wisdom teaches us about this
wisdom 2:23-24 "For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. But by the envy of the devil death entered the world, and they who are in his possession experience it. "
The apostle Paul writes of this in Romans 5:12-14 "Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world and through sin, death and thus death came to all inasmuch as all sinned- for up to the time of the law sin was in the world though sin is not accounted when there is no law. But death reigned from Adam to Moses even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam who is the type of the one who is to come."
So how terrible: because of Adam and Eve and their sin death entered the world and satan is over death. However we know Christ has conquered satan, sin and death! What a wonderful blessing!! However we live in a world that believes "death is the norm." "its natural" It's not. It's a product of sin and and only Christ has overcome death with His resurrection.
So as christians what is our response to death then?
prayer. I pray for mamaw that God would have grace on her and grant her eternal life with Him. I know that this is His choice, and He is perfectly just so whatever He chooses is right. I'd encourage you friends when you have lost someone to pray that God would have mercy on them for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
friends I ask you to please pray for my grandmother that God would accept her into eternity. Pray for those she left behind that they would be faithful to God in the lives that they would run the race well and live lives that glorify the one true God. Friends I pray that for you that you would live a life worthy of your calling and that God would one day welcome you into eternity.
<3
