Graduating Into Eternity

Kathi and her husband sat at the bedside of her 90-year-old mother knowing these were their final moments together. With mixed emotions they watched as she took her last breath and graduated to heaven. Although they long anticipated this day, this hour and this very moment they could never fully prepare. However, they were confident of one thing that brought them peace. They knew without a doubt that they were saying goodbye to her earthly body until they would meet her again.

Kathi said in her recent devotional, “It would be foolish to think that just because we know where she is and that we will see her again that we don’t feel grief or sorrow.”

Kathi experienced much the same thing when her father died almost 12 years ago, though the immediate joy was perhaps a bit more intense, as he didn’t receive Jesus as his Savior until the last week of his life—something they’d prayed for over many years. Kathi’s mom, on the other hand, came to know Christ in a personal way at the age of 50, and God graciously gave her 40 more years to enjoy a relationship with Him before taking her home.

“Whether we are blessed to receive Christ as children and live our entire life with our hand tucked securely in His or we mercifully come to him on our death bed, those of us who bid farewell to born-again loved ones can rejoice even as we grieve. To witness the end of my mom’s earthly suffering was to rejoice that she had at last stepped into the presence of the One who held her in His nail-scarred hands throughout her earthly journey and even as she passed through the valley of the shadow of death.” Kathi said with confidence, ”One day I too will graduate to heaven and will at last see my Savior face to face—as well as all those who have gone on before me.”

Kathi indeed has hope in Christ alone as she mourns the loss of her beautiful mother whom she devoted these past years to love like Jesus, which left her no regret as she watched her mother pass into eternity. 

Do you look forward to graduation day with hope?

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, NKJV).

Adapted from Kathi Macias’ devotional.

 Kathi’s newest release, People of the Book (set in Saudi Arabia and the final installment of the Extreme Devotion series) is now available at most online venues and in bookstores across the country. You can find/order it, along with previously published books, on my website (www.kathimacias.com). Also, watch for news about my Fall 2011 releases, Deliver Me from Evil and A Christmas Journey Home.

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