The Party is just beginning
A few weeks ago I wrote about my friend who was dying of cancer. I mentioned how she and her family modeled, in their response to her struggle, how to live in an inevitable crisis in which they had no control… just like Habakkuk and Isaiah of old.
A few weeks ago I wrote about my friend who was dying of cancer. I mentioned how she and her family modeled, in their response to her struggle, how to live in an inevitable crisis in which they had no control… just like Habakkuk and Isaiah of old.
Monday night, April 25 at 7:24 p.m. this dear friend entered the presence of Christ and her battle with cancer was over. Two things stand out immediately.
Her body wasted away, but her spirit grew stronger and stronger as God transitioned her into His presence. This became so obvious to her family and her caregivers just as Paul wrote in II Corinthians 4:16 -5: 9. The outer man is decaying but inner man is being renewed day by day. Therefore we look not at the things that are seen, temporal, but at the things that are unseen, eternal. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Paul’s well – penned words shout hope and anticipation…glorious words!
The second marked thing was realizing that my friend’s passion and intentionality to live for Christ while on earth was worth it. When her earthly life was fading and death seemed more imminent her priority focus of knowing and serving Christ became more precious. Her love of life and experiencing all the joy therein with her four children, many grandchildren and great grandchildren captivated her. It was always a party to be with her. But now as death grew closer the reality of life ongoing settled in. The party was ending or was it?
Evangeline Peterson’s poem “Reflection”, included in Kenneth Boa’s book That I May Know God, answers.
I used to think-
Loving life so greatly
That to die would be
Like leaving a party
Before the end.
Now I know that the party
Is really happening
Somewhere else;
That the light and the music –
Escaping in snatches
To make the pulse beat
And the tempo quicken –
Come from a long way
Away.
And I know too
That when I get there
The music will never
End.
Yes, the real party is going on somewhere else and my friend is there.
Gail Seidel
Gail Seidel served as Mentor Advisor for Spiritual Formation in the Department of Spiritual Formation and Leadership at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) and as an Adjunct Professor in the D Min in Spiritual Formation in the D Min Department at Dallas Theological Seminary. She has a BA in English from the University of Texas, a Masters in Christian Education from Dallas Seminary and a D Min in Spiritual Formation from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. She is a contributor to the textbook, Foundations of Spiritual Formation, Kregel Academic. She served as co-director for Christian Women in Partnership Russia with Entrust, an international church leadership-training mission. She and her husband Andy live in Fredericksburg, Texas. They have 2 married children and 6 wonderful grandchildren--Kami, Kourtney, Katie, Mallory, Grayson, and Avery.
