“Hear my prayer, O LORD, listen to my cry for help; be not deaf to my weeping. For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger, as all my fathers were.” Psalm 39:12.
About two years before my sweet grandmother died, I went to visit her at her home. She had a prayer request for me that knocked me over. She scooted to the edge of her chair, fixed her eyes upon mine and asked me to pray for her to die that night. ‘Grandmother, are you going to pray for you to die tonight?’ She stated, ‘Oh no, child. I must pray for God’s will!’ I just laughed out loud and told her that I felt I should pray the same way and let God decide. You must know that her request was not to escape something, but rather to embrace something. She had lived 98 years on earth and was ready to reunite with my grandfather and see her first love (Christ) face to face. You see, Grandmother dwelled with the Lord as an alien and stranger to this world. Much like Paul after he wrote Philippians 3:20 on paper, she lived out this verse in her heart.
As I mature both in age and in my spiritual walk, I understand that I am becoming more and more uncomfortable in this world. I better understand and am experiencing the reality that God has placed eternity in my heart (Eccl. 3:11). Most days, I long for another land…a land called Home where I will enjoy fellowship with those who have gone before me, and prepare to welcome future loved ones as they return home. I will walk hand in hand with Christ instead of walking hand in hand with suffering, challenges and pain. As we become more at home with Christ in our hearts we become less content with this temporary place called earth.
When we share the heart of Christ we will feel what Paul, Grandmother and many others who have gone before us felt. Thankfully, we are blessed through our faith and the sacrifice of Christ to experience God on earth as our loved ones experience God in Heaven. Same Father…same Son…same Holy Spirit – just a thin veil separates the two.
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