She had no choice but to run straight forward even though she knew the cliff was straight ahead; but she must run forward. She could feel the pulsating heat of "its" breath on the back of her neck. She was sickened by the smell the hellish stench of the destructive words that roared from "its" lips. No time to turn though, unbelief wanted her to look back to see if her soul's vision of hope had deceived her... What nagged her was the pleasure that was "back there" and beauty that had dazzled her eyes at times and momentarily thrilled her flesh. She was too quickly at the edge ...She leapt into the vast safety of His Will.
This running had not just happened by reflex, nor would she have had strength to continue the pace to the edge. If she would have hesitated, she would have been immediately consumed by the enemy. It started with a challenge from Beyond the Veil: "Blessed is he who is actively absorbing the written Words to fully understand and stand in the middle of the pages for living; blessed are they who intensely listen to the words to fully engage with the unfolding truths, the engulfing reality, and the call to value and commitment beyond their temporal moments; and blessed are those who treasure and hold precious the Words as "glorious" in their own intrinsic revelation as written: for the unfolding and closing of time is at hand." Rev. 1:3 And she was ready.
As I looked across this moment of life's suspended spiritual animation, I realized that the blessed life is not one that just stays focused at the unfolding mysteries of eternity, but also is comforted by the closing of the desires for this life to fully satisfy. There is no way to describe this transition; but deep in the souls of believers, who saturate their days in the reading, the listening, and the keeping of God's Word, there are glimpses of glory, echoes of the beyond, and the overwhelming assurances that His Word is extravagantly Faithful. "This too will pass", "Behold, I make all things new!" This causes the believer to be satisfied for now by being in the middle.
Her life had run its course. Cancer was no longer the enemy, but the friend that would take her to Heaven's door. She had hurled herself wholeheartedly into the trust found on the Edge of "The Cliff" ("I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my cliff...." - Psalm 18: 1, 2 ). Now she lay anxiously in and out of restless, but sweet sleep hoping to open her eyes to welcome the warmth of the smile of her Savior's face. She would practice with every awakening with the following greeting, "Oh, I love you so much; and I have been waiting for You!"
She found that whether it was family, friend, or stranger that she greeted upon waking, the gift of the those words were never wasted. She wouldn't even entertain disappointment if her waking gaze had not found the Lover of her soul, Jesus. For she had learned that always being ready to give love as the reason for the hope that was within her was never a waste, never a useless gesture ... for the love, that is empowered and emboldened by the Promises of God, is the ultimate gift that one can offer to those for whom Christ died for ... And the scope of that offering includes all.
The exact moment of her actual verbal expression of Heavenly Love to her Savior went unnoticed by family, friends and strangers because it was so quiet, so peaceful, and so pure; but the heritage that she left behind in the advent of her home-going still ripples within the hearts of those who knew her. Her life has made us long for the Cliff.
Happy Mother's Day!
Dedicated to the memory of Mom, Theresa Dean Buhrman, Redding, Lambe.
HLFA,
Jeff