We said goodbye to our dear Aunt Phyllis on Saturday. As I had mentioned in a previous post, we had the special opportunity to visit with her over the last couple of months, and every visit was sacred, even in the last week, on Thanksgiving morning, when she could no longer speak. But we could surmise what was on her heart by the look and countenance on her face. She could still smile. She communicated to us what she lived out with her vibrant life: JOY.
And so we gathered on Saturday morning and participated in a service which was planned from start to finish by Aunt Phyllis. Never in my lifetime have I been part of a memorial that exuded so much joy as we stood and belted out the opening lyrics to “O When the Saints Go Marching In” as the pastor walked down the aisle! Joy was the predominant theme. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 was the epistle reading, and verse 13 states: “We do not want you to be uniformed about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” Phyllis was crafting a message from start to finish to us: there is something glorious that awaits us all, and we can be encouraged that death has lost its sting for those who believe.
In one of the sweet conversations while Phyllis was still here, she shared a story of an encounter she had with God. It was one of those times she sensed the Lord speaking to her directly. She had just been bathed by her wonderful caretakers, and she was sitting in her wheelchair, thanking God for the refreshing feeling of being clean, when she heard the voice of God: “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
And so we walk away from saying goodbye to our dear aunt by clinging to those words of hope, that one day when we face the deep valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, for Christ walks with us in the transition, and He gives us a spring in our step because we have hope. Just as this Advent announces the Savior’s birth with great joy, it also announces our hope of joyous reunion with Him in the next life.
