My sweet mother graduated from this world this week and I find myself struggling just a little with the knowledge of her absence from this world while I'm left to inhabit it without her. As a follower of Jesus like my mother, I know where she is. She's not gone and she's not missing, she's just not here. But even with my knowledge and complete confidence in Christ's word, I occasionally find myself a little overcome with moments of deep sadness as I work through processing her departure ... but then I fight back.
It's so easy given our current limitations to focus on the microcosm that is this world as the content of our life. But the real and true picture isn't so small and if we believe God (which I do completely), this world is just the front doorstep of our actual lives. My precious mother was never her body of flesh and it was never our heavenly Father's intention that any of us would perish with our flesh. She inhabited her body for a time, but she is and always has been a spirit. So when her spirit left her body behind, she merely moved from the prologue of her life's story to the first chapter of the life that our Father has intended for her and for each of us, from the very moment that He gave life to her. We were created in the image of God by God and He is spirit - we ... are spirit.
Given that fact, I find myself concluding that in my own case, my tears are purely for myself and for the sadness of those around me who continue to love her also... And I'm pretty sure that Jesus and our Father in Heaven understand the pain of separation. There's no question in my own mind that our God not only feels our pain, but shares in it as our loving Father. But at the same time, there's also another separation that has ended. From the moment that He lovingly and tenderly formed my Mamma to be birthed into this world with great joy and hope in His own heart and sent her into this world .. Heaven's been separated from her presence. So much greater than the celebration of the prodigal son's return, is Heaven's joyous party right now at her return ...
But in this moment ... as those of us who are left behind find ourselves wrestling with our hearts as we work to process what has so recently occurred ... our peace is to be found in the truth - the true reality of an eternal perspective, because we as followers and believers of Christ are absolutely eternal with her. In the bigger perspective, she's just in the next room ... and we will join her presently.
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