There are few more powerful verses in the Bible than John 14:1-3. Jesus speaks to each of us - individuals who know Him & believe in His work on the cross. Letting us most assuredly understand He is working on our behalf in getting a place ready in Heaven, with Him - ever with Him. A place which will, based on our uniqueness as well as His vast, intimate & complete knowledge of us, FIT just right.
It was my deepest honor & heartache to be alongside my dear Mom as she faced her greatest battle. She was a woman of 86 years who had been remarkably healthy her life through, only to become consistently weaker to the point my sisters & I took her to the Emergency department at the local hospital. We entered the facility not knowing the day marked the beginning of the end. She was diagnosed with Stage VI breast cancer with no options except comfort until the disease would ultimately take her life - a period of about 5.5 months.
This new life of hopelessness & hope seemed to slow down & speed up all at the same time – indeed, a whirlwind of contradictions. The days soon filled with tests & tears, doctors & drugs, with questions & more questions. Days spent at her side dragged on in the presence of her pain, but with the close of each one, her departure from this world drew closer. Practitioners were helpless against the progress of the cancer, but Mom held tight the hope of Heaven.
During those chaotic days, my brave mother would close her eyes, fill her lungs with calming breaths & listen as I read from her large print Bible. Passages throughout the pages seemed to settle her even more than the myriad medications meant to give her pain free moments & peace.
One such chapter was John 14:1-3:
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go & prepare a place for you, I will come again & will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Mom & I enjoyed numerous conversations of this place where our Lord worked tirelessly in anticipation of our ‘one day’ arrival. We explored the notion that Jesus was thinking of her as the moment of meeting Him face to face drew ever nearer. We discussed the supremacy of Heaven as well as the unparalleled levels of comfort that awaited her there. His ministrations would far exceed even the most well delivered injection designed to alleviate her suffering. I understood my Mom was afraid. I recognized her fear because I saw it mirrored in my own, & I wasn’t the one facing the finality of cancer. But I was the witness to the unparalleled truth of her belief in Him & His word. The word that speaks amongst other things, of a thief on a cross who, within sight of his own death, reached out to an inclusive, accepting Jesus. The story of a criminal who would share the grandeur of Heaven with the One Who hung beside him - the man who would, like my mother, receive his place in the Father’s house.
An excerpt from my Journal entitled May 8th, 2018 - A Day That Changed My Life :
On May 8th, before 9am, my dear Mom passed away, breathing her last breath here, and her first air of Heaven. Lori found her (she was alone), I was already on the highway, Terri at work - we were called by Chantelle from the hospital, & arrived a short time later. Mom looked incredibly peaceful, I celebrated that she had finally arrived home.
I am broken, sad & missing her like crazy, but my heart is at rest, knowing that she is out of that bed, eternally comfortable, free from anxiety & loved beyond reason!!
Her service was held at CrossRoads Church on Saturday May 19th at 1:30pm in the Chapel, presided by Stu. A lovely time that honored Mom & allowed everyone in attendance a glimpse at who she was, how she lived & loved, where she is & Who is beside her. I praise you Jesus that she knew You & that she could proclaim You as her Lord & Saviour! She is indeed with You.
Though my heart was broken numerous times as I witnessed her pain, loss, & disability, Jesus was close to both her & I as together we limped forward. Some days I cannot believe she is gone - my Mom of 56 years - the Mom who has been with me my entire life - the Mom who lived through so much. But my trembling heart is comforted knowing she has fought the good fight & is now free - free for eternity.
Mom - how is your place? The one He has been preparing for you? I know it has been crafted with the greatest of care, with the greatest knowledge of you, with the greatest yet gentlest hands.
I miss you Mom. See you when I get there. O what a day that will be!
No one is immune to suffering. No one is immune to pain. Someone is immune to the sting of death, Who freely reaches to each of us & extends this freedom. He is the Author of perfect plans, the Redeemer of souls, the very Expression of the Father’s inescapable love, & the Preparer of places.
Do you know Him?
