One Day Closer to Jesus
The inspiration for this text comes from a variety of sources on this day. Today is the day they lay my dear neighbor to rest. He was in his 80's and will be missed by many. I was also remembering my friend who was younger than I who died awhile back. The precipitating reason for this 
train of thought was the reminder I got yesterday on my 39th birthday.
My 11 year old started my day by leaving me the sweetest homemade card. I found it on my desk at 6 AM when I awoke. Not much (short of a smack to the head) will wake you up like these words..."Dear Mom- I just want you to know that being one year older is not too bad, because the older you are, the faster you die, and the faster you die, the faster you get to see Jesus." Now I can't argue with the sincerity of the logic, but the concept was hard to wrap my head around.
My mother tried to make me feel better by explaining that this is just one of the blessings of raising children in a Christian household. They understand the joy of meeting Jesus face to face. My 6 year old declared that when he grew up he wanted to be dead so he could be with Jesus. OUCH! Mom's don't like to hear that, but I DID like to hear that he was confident that he WOULD and that he was actually looking forward to it.
I decided to turn my uncertainty about the matter into a positive, and made my theme for the day, "ONE DAY CLOSER TO JESUS''. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all live our lives with that phrase as our theme? So often we get wrapped up in 'the end' and forget that it actually is our earthly goal.
I have always admired people who don't fear death. I have always found inspiration in visiting the terminally ill who embrace it. I have tried to remember this strength and courage when talking to those left behind, for we know that is who the grief belongs to. The person fortunate enough to meet Jesus face to face is smiling. It is us who are crying. In our humanness, we forget the glory. We wallow in our sorrow and when we can finally come through to the other side of our frailty, it is THEN that we can see the blessing for what it really is and declare.....One day closer to Jesus!!!
train of thought was the reminder I got yesterday on my 39th birthday.My 11 year old started my day by leaving me the sweetest homemade card. I found it on my desk at 6 AM when I awoke. Not much (short of a smack to the head) will wake you up like these words..."Dear Mom- I just want you to know that being one year older is not too bad, because the older you are, the faster you die, and the faster you die, the faster you get to see Jesus." Now I can't argue with the sincerity of the logic, but the concept was hard to wrap my head around.
My mother tried to make me feel better by explaining that this is just one of the blessings of raising children in a Christian household. They understand the joy of meeting Jesus face to face. My 6 year old declared that when he grew up he wanted to be dead so he could be with Jesus. OUCH! Mom's don't like to hear that, but I DID like to hear that he was confident that he WOULD and that he was actually looking forward to it.
I decided to turn my uncertainty about the matter into a positive, and made my theme for the day, "ONE DAY CLOSER TO JESUS''. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all live our lives with that phrase as our theme? So often we get wrapped up in 'the end' and forget that it actually is our earthly goal.
I have always admired people who don't fear death. I have always found inspiration in visiting the terminally ill who embrace it. I have tried to remember this strength and courage when talking to those left behind, for we know that is who the grief belongs to. The person fortunate enough to meet Jesus face to face is smiling. It is us who are crying. In our humanness, we forget the glory. We wallow in our sorrow and when we can finally come through to the other side of our frailty, it is THEN that we can see the blessing for what it really is and declare.....One day closer to Jesus!!!
posted by Lori Anne | Wednesday, August 02, 2006
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