I have had the flu for a couple days. You know the feeling, like life is going on all around you and you have stopped moving. But I knew that I would be better, at least I thought I would be better. But what about if I knew that chances were slim to none, barring a miracle, that I would get better at all....that changes things. Everytime I get sick I think of my sister in law who fought so courageously for so long.....so many days waking, working, feeling sick, and then when she could no longer work, endless rounds of chemo. She was always hopeful, always thinking of others, even to the end. She lost her battle with ovarian cancer about 12 years ago now.
Well, she lost the battle but she won the war, for she died at peace with a smile on her face. Everyone who was in the room can attest to that. She died in the arms of our Jehovah Rapha, our healer. Shortly before she passed from this life to the next, she was asking my brother about our Grandfather, who died of cancer when he was in his sixties. She had heard about him, how he loved roses, and being close to the earth, making things grow, and camping.
She asked my brother what color his roses were and he listed them all......she listened thoughfully and then said, "He told me he liked white roses." Well, I have no Scriptural basis for this belief, but I happen to believe that there will be someone to greet us when we get to Heaven, and I think that he was probably one of the first to welcome her.....with one of Heaven's own white roses.
by the wounds of Our Great Healer, we are healed.........
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4
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| Photo by Kathy Roncarati |
Lori, what a powerful post. I take comfort in your beliefs and share them. You write this story with such tenderness, thank you for sharing it. Hope you are feeling better.
ReplyDeleteAndie