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Friday, April 27, 2012

Sad But Hopeful

My sweet Aunt Sharon (with whom I lived with for 8 years of my life) passed away on Thursday 04/27/2012 at about 5:15pm CDT.  She was 65 years old.  She lived in Alabama and spent her final days living with another aunt and uncle of mine. This had been a long time coming.   I found out in March of 2011 that Aunt Sharon had a lung condition that would kill her as of that time within 2 months.  God answered prayer, however, and extended her life by another year. We exchanged some nice letters since that time.  I know from my letters with her and e-mails with Aunt Amelia whom she had lived with (as of recently) that she was saved. 

About a week or so ago, I received an e-mail from my Aunt Amelia that Aunt Sharon was in bad shape and was living with her (along with Aunt Sharon's husband---my Uncle Allen [who is also in bad shape]).  Aunt Sharon went downhill fast.  I started praying that God will either provide Aunt Sharon with a miraculous healing or to take Aunt Sharon home (to Heaven) soon and as pain-free as possible.  God nnswered that prayer by taking Aunt Sharon home.


Even though it is sad for me to hear of Aunt Sharon's death, I am filled with hope knowing that one day soon I will see her again. No longer is Aunt Sharon in pain. She is happy.  She is reunited with her mom and dad, and her other family members.

One day soon Jesus is going to rapture the church.  And on that day, I will be reunited with Aunt Sharon and all my saved loved ones.  Me, my wife and children and other family members will be able to worship at Jesus' throne forever.  I am very encouraged by this scripture:


1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NLT)

13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died[a] so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 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.
15 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.[b] 16 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[c] will rise from their graves. 17 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. 18 So encourage each other with these words

I hope you are encouraged by these words, especially if you have had saved loved ones who have died.

I look forward to going to Heaven everyday!  I love the song that Brad Paisley sings; "When I Get Where I'm Going".  The chorus says this:

"Yeah when I get where I'm going
There'll be only happy tears
I will shed the sins and struggles
I have carried all these years
And I'll leave my heart wide open
I will love and have no fear
Yeah when I get where I'm going
Don't cry for me down here"


You can find these lyrics at: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bradpaisley/whenigetwhereimgoing.html

It's tempting to cry and to give in to sorrow over someone like my Aunt Sharon who has died.  I bet, however, that now that she is in Heaven and is happy, she wouldn't want any of us to cry. She would want us to be happy for her....to celebrate even!  She's in the presence of Jesus!  And that's the best place to be!

Thank you, Aunt Sharon (along with Uncle Allen), for helping to raise me for those 8 years!  Thank you for your love and for your good cooking and for providing me a home!  I love you! I look forward to seeing you in Heaven again!

Let's all pray for  my Uncle Allen (her husband), Aunt Amelia and Uncle Dutch (who helped take care of her) and the rest of her family members that God will grant them all and us grace, peace and love during this time.


2 comments:

  1. So sorry to hear about your Aunt Sharon. Losing a loved one is never easy, even though you know they'll most likely be in a better place. I'm praying for you, and your other family members who were a part of her life. How is her husband doing now?

    Someone told me that when you cry about someone's death, you're really crying for yourself because there's no need to cry for someone who is in a better place. It didn't really make much sense to me but your entry (and the lyrics you posted) puts things in an entire different perspective!

    I hope all is well with your family. My family and I will continue to pray :)

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