You know, it really is difficult to say goodbye to someone you love so much. But as a believer...you also want them to go so that they can be made whole and be in the presence of the Lord for eternity. As my Dad lies in his hospice bed, it is sad, but it is good too. He has been a most wonderful dad on this earth. A very humble and gentle man...and I look forward to recounting all of the great stories that everyone has to remember. But my wonderful and loving husband has captured such truth as he shares below. Thanks honey for loving me, and loving my family and serving them so well all these years. Thanks for your wonderful tribute to my dad. I love you!!!
“What a blessing it is to see a righteous man die.”
That statement may seem quite morbid but watching an elderly man with a gaggle of family hovering about his deathbed is a beautiful thing in itself but to know this man and to know his Lord is truly amazing. I am writing about my father-in-law of over twenty years and someone I have gone to church with for almost forty years. I have watched him live out what he believes and the proof of the pudding is watching him come to the end of his life. He is ready to go! What holds him back is his love of family and still making sure that they are all right and taken care of. I have seen this in my own father and had to convince him that we would take care of things and that he could go home.
ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) has attacked Cam’s throat and pallet making it impossible to swallow and speak. Over the years he has lost sight in his left eye and his right eye is not much better, yet his desire to “DO” is only now crawled to a halt. He has gone from home, to hospital, back home, to hospital, to rehab center, back home again, to hospital, and now to a Hospice house in only two months with no hope for another physical move. This time the transition will be from life to life eternal and from sinful, failing flesh to a new body that is free from sin and in the presence of his Lord Jesus.
Although medication has him groggy, he still gets his point across with grunts, hand signals, and a pad to write on. His mind is still in fairly good shape. One day in the hospital with nine of us in the room, he took his pad and marker and wrote, “I love y’all” and signed it. My wife absconded with that treasure and is trying to preserve it. He gives us the thumbs up and raises his hands into the air letting us know that he is ready to go. A few days ago I was in the hospital room with just he and his bride of sixty-six years. He was making a continuous sound but it was not like a moan. Evelyn started to sing an old hymn and that is what he was doing. He was singing and all I could do was listen to the two of them sing praises to the one who had given them this kind of peace. I still break into tears every time I think about this moment because of the great assurance that we have in Christ Jesus through his saving grace. This is not death…but a graduation into the glory that faith in what the Precious Lamb of God did for us on the cross has assured us. Not works, although this man was a laborer for the Lord, or being good but only the Blood of Jesus Christ can deliver this kind of rest when coming to the end of your life. What fear other men must have at this hour, not knowing what is next and fearing their rejection of what might just have been truth.
Now you know how I can say what a blessing it is to see a righteous man die. As hard as it is to say good by to Christian friends and Christian family…there is truly assurance that with that last breath comes the moment that every believer longs for…that moment when we can look into the eyes and are embraced by the One who saved us. We have fought the good fight and are truly at home, no longer aliens in this world, but home. Praise be to the Lord Jesus Christ!!
Halleluiah and Amen!
That statement may seem quite morbid but watching an elderly man with a gaggle of family hovering about his deathbed is a beautiful thing in itself but to know this man and to know his Lord is truly amazing. I am writing about my father-in-law of over twenty years and someone I have gone to church with for almost forty years. I have watched him live out what he believes and the proof of the pudding is watching him come to the end of his life. He is ready to go! What holds him back is his love of family and still making sure that they are all right and taken care of. I have seen this in my own father and had to convince him that we would take care of things and that he could go home.
ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) has attacked Cam’s throat and pallet making it impossible to swallow and speak. Over the years he has lost sight in his left eye and his right eye is not much better, yet his desire to “DO” is only now crawled to a halt. He has gone from home, to hospital, back home, to hospital, to rehab center, back home again, to hospital, and now to a Hospice house in only two months with no hope for another physical move. This time the transition will be from life to life eternal and from sinful, failing flesh to a new body that is free from sin and in the presence of his Lord Jesus.
Although medication has him groggy, he still gets his point across with grunts, hand signals, and a pad to write on. His mind is still in fairly good shape. One day in the hospital with nine of us in the room, he took his pad and marker and wrote, “I love y’all” and signed it. My wife absconded with that treasure and is trying to preserve it. He gives us the thumbs up and raises his hands into the air letting us know that he is ready to go. A few days ago I was in the hospital room with just he and his bride of sixty-six years. He was making a continuous sound but it was not like a moan. Evelyn started to sing an old hymn and that is what he was doing. He was singing and all I could do was listen to the two of them sing praises to the one who had given them this kind of peace. I still break into tears every time I think about this moment because of the great assurance that we have in Christ Jesus through his saving grace. This is not death…but a graduation into the glory that faith in what the Precious Lamb of God did for us on the cross has assured us. Not works, although this man was a laborer for the Lord, or being good but only the Blood of Jesus Christ can deliver this kind of rest when coming to the end of your life. What fear other men must have at this hour, not knowing what is next and fearing their rejection of what might just have been truth.
Now you know how I can say what a blessing it is to see a righteous man die. As hard as it is to say good by to Christian friends and Christian family…there is truly assurance that with that last breath comes the moment that every believer longs for…that moment when we can look into the eyes and are embraced by the One who saved us. We have fought the good fight and are truly at home, no longer aliens in this world, but home. Praise be to the Lord Jesus Christ!!
Halleluiah and Amen!
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