This morning Matt and I visited a very sick friend, Ray Bell, in the
hospital. His wife Linda is a dear friend of
mine, and I want so desperately for her to have more time with him on this
earth. I've rarely witnessed two people more perfect for each other. Ray & Linda fell in love the first time they met and are still in love today.
Last night Ray had a vision of Jesus. The Lord told him to come on home. He saw Linda’s mom and dad (both deceased) standing behind Jesus, waiting for him with happy faces. At 6 am this morning, Ray told Linda that he was
done fighting, and he was ready to go home. She thought he was talking about their house, but after he shared his vision of Jesus with her, she knew what he meant by "home." He wanted her to call all his loved ones and say his last goodbyes. We
felt very privileged to be on his “loved ones” list and to pray with him and
his family, perhaps for the last time. Only
Jesus knows.
Being in ministry, we’ve met with several people over the
years that are hovering between this life and the next. When you walk away from those precious
encounters, you can’t help but evaluate your life. The Bible says our life is “a mist, a
vapor”. This life is so temporary. Am I living for what really matters? Am I taking people in my life for granted?
One strange thing about life—while one person is in the
midst of a painful trial another person might be in a time of celebration. That is the case with us. It’s our 25th
wedding anniversary on Monday, and we are going to celebrate BIG tonight—our
usual date night is going to another level! We’re eating at one of our favorite
restaurants that we hit every 10 years—Ruth Chris Steakhouse. After that, we’re going to see a movie. We love going to the movies. I told Matt—no flowers and no card necessary. I just want to have fun with you.
You see, when I'm with Matt, I'm in my happy place. I'm home. I've told him before, the best thing about being married is that whenever change comes, we go through it together. If we move, you're still here. If the kids leave, you're still here. If we lost our jobs, we'd still have each other.
I’m so very grateful for the years we’ve had together. I don’t want to take my husband for
granted. He’s my best friend, my love,
my pastor, and my biggest supporter.
Even this morning, he gave me another reason to love him. Before the crack of dawn, our dog got sick
all over the stairs, and he let me stay in bed while he got up and cleaned the
carpet. Then, he went ahead and
steam-cleaned all the stairs. Now that’s a good man.
He’s also a wonderful father to our 3 children. I also realized
this morning that I don’t want to miss out on one moment with my children. They are my joy and delight. Now that my
oldest son is grown and gone, I’ve become acutely aware of how quickly this
“raising kids” stage of life goes by. Oh,
how fast it goes by . . .
Relationships are the only thing in life that matter,
because they are the only things from
this life that we take into eternity.
But the most important relationship on this side of Heaven
is our relationship with Jesus. He is
waiting with open arms for Ray. How wonderful that Jesus appeared to Ray, reassuring both he and Linda that it was ok to let go. The presence of Jesus is the ultimate home. One day He will welcome
me home too.
Oh, I want to see Him, look
upon His face,
There to sing forever of His
saving grace;
On the streets of glory let
me lift my voice,
Cares all past, home at
last, ever to rejoice. *
*“Oh, I Want to See Him” by R.H. Cornelius (1916)
