Daily Wisdom 02-11-2005 A Season

"There is a time for everything; a time to be born and a time to die." Ecclesiastes 3:1,2
"Hurry." I said, "We have to get there in time!" Being allowed in the delivery room to see each of my grandsons' births was a time for rejoicing! New life, sweet fingers to hold, squinchy little eyes to adore, dark fuzz on their heads, precious baby breath upon my shoulder... yes, it was wonderful. Each child came out of a dark place and landed in our world, filled with light, and surrounded by a loving family. These children would hear millions of new sounds and see so much in their lifetimes. A whole new existence awaited them; one full of surprises!

On January 6 of this year, my dad made his trip into a whole new existence. After 91 years on this earth, God called him home. He now resides where his true citizenship is: in Heaven.

"Hurry", my sister said, "and you can get here in time." Packing, flying, renting the car and the drive to the hospital seemed to take forever. The opposite physical attributes between the birth of my grandsons, and the death of my dad hit me hard. We arrived at the Hospice unit, where he lay in a coma. Gnarled fingers and calloused hands from years of working with them were a far cry from the smooth skin of a baby. Eyes closed, sparse white hair, and labored breathing; all difficult to grasp. So many differences, but one huge similarity! Each baby and my daddy were born into a new existence, one they had not experienced before.

Despite the sadness of our loss was the overriding joyous celebration of his going home. The Bible gives us glimpses of what will await believers after death, but I know daddy has so many surprises in store for him. He will see and hear soooo many new and beautiful things, and have the pleasure of rejoining my mother and other family members.

We are born; no choice; we will die; no choice. What we do in the middle IS our choice. I hope your choice is, as mine has been, to accept Jesus as our savior and live a life in service to others, following the example of The One we have asked into our hearts: the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One.

If you're interested, there is more information about:
The most important event of all time and
The most important Book of all time.