"And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died."
My Mom passed away at the age of 86 on Friday, February 22, 2008 at 9:45am. All 4 of my sisters, 2 brothers-in-law and I were all sitting with her when she went. I don't know if I ever want to be there when someone passes away again but I wouldn't have missed this for anything. It was really a bit torturing for us to sit and watch and listen as she struggled for breath. She would draw a very labored breath and then nothing... we'd be sure she was gone and then she would give one more gasp for breath. Things went on that way for about 15 minutes until it was truly her final breath. As much as it hurt us (in our flesh) to know she was gone - there was also an incredible feeling of celebration. After 3 long months of her physical and mental health being very sketchy - 3 months of visits when she may or may not have known who we were or even known that we were there - she was finally free of her earthly body that was in such terrible condition. Free to walk, to run, to sing again.
In those final moments my oldest sister mentioned that she had just read that hearing is the last sense to leave a person in the end. With music being such a gigantic part of life that Mom passed down to all of us I felt compelled to nudge all of us to sing during those last 15 minutes. I just felt like Mom had GO with a song. As tough as it was we did our best to sing "It Is Well with My Soul" - just one verse with all the parts. As we ended the song my sister gave Mom a hug and said, "She has a tear running down her cheek." I don't know for sure if she heard us but I choose to believe she did and that in her heart she was singing with us!
God is so gracious - the moment she slipped away He pasted a photo in my mind. It's a photo of my Mom and Dad from 1944 - the year before they married. Dad has been gone 7 and 1/2 years now and Mom has often talked of wanting nothing more than to go and be with the Lord and with Dad. In this photo they are both laughing so hard, Mom is bent over, slapping her knees and Dad just looks like he has a good "belly-laugh" going. In the minutes after Mom died this photo went through my mind along with the strong notion that THIS IS WHAT MOM AND DAD ARE DOING RIGHT NOW!!!
Along with the photo - the lyrics to the Mark Harris song "Wish You Were Here" also stuck in my mind:
"To run with the angels on streets made of gold;
and listen to stories of saints new and old;
To worship our Maker - that's where I'll be
When you finally find me...
I wish you were here!"
1 Thessalonians 4 ends with these words (vv. 15-18):
"We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words."
There are still many tears - but I am ENCOURAGED and I grieve as ONE WHO HAS HOPE!
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