Goodbye, for now...

One of my favorite people in this world lost her battle with cancer on Monday. She fought for a long time, and I am so grateful that she is pain-free and resting in the joy of Jesus today.

And yet my heart is broken.

My spirit is so offended by cancer, and by death. I have to believe that God is offended too. We were not created for death. We were created for life. Sickness and death are results of the sin that is part of our nature, and are the dominion of Satan. I can think of few things as evil as the cancer that took my friend. This evil is the reason Jesus came to earth, became one of us, and healed so many illnesses. This evil is the reason Jesus set aside his power and conquered death by participating in it.

Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your victory: O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I Corinthians 15:55-57

Thanks to Jesus, death is temporary. Thanks to Jesus, we have hope. Because of the willingness of Jesus to die, I will live, and I will spend eternity with my friend.

God so loved the world that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

I read these words, the words I, and probably you, memorized as a small child, and I am comforted. I am so grateful to know that I will see my friend again, will feel the warmth of her smile and enjoy the feel of her arms around me. She and I together will know true fellowship with Jesus, and with others who have gone before us and are one with us in faith.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Cor. 1:3-4

Today, while my heart is hurting, I am choosing to allow God to comfort me. He has provided all I need for life, and I am choosing to rest in him, and I hope I can pass that comfort on to others who are hurting as well. My friend was well loved. She touched the lives of hundreds of the kids she taught, the people she taught with, her family and those of us who were privileged to call her friend. She was a gift to us. Now it's time for us to be the same for each other.