God's perfect time to take Mom home to be with Him.

It was a Friday night in November. After battling the last three months and especially the emotional turmoil of the past week, I relinquished my bedside role to my sister and planned to sleep a little. I was mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted when I went to bed, but knew that more of the same was to come. It wasn't over...yet. Just as I managed to fall asleep, I heard Dad awaken me saying, "I think it's time."

Yes, it was time. It wasn't my timing. This didn't fit into my plan. As a family we weren't ready for this. But it was God's perfect time. And as I was able to see my mother take that final breath and slip from this earthly world into eternity, I felt joy and sorrow all at once. Relief that the last several months were over. Sadness that Mom was physically no longer here.

It's times like those in losing a loved one that life seems bleak. That the world as you have known it is coming to an end. But think a minute from God's perspective. God brought us into this earth and He can take us away from it at any time. To us, with our human minds, death seems sad, sorrowful. The end of a life. There's a finality to it. But in God's eyes our life here on earth is just a moment...just a fraction of a second.

You see, death is part of God's plan. Our lives here on earth are temporary. What seems like a tragedy in death to us, is only glory and victory in the life of a believer. In James 4:14, God tells us that life is like a vapor that vanishes away..."Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away."

It was early Saturday morning now. After people had been coming and going for a couple hours, at 2 am, the final person left. I never will forget Dad closing the front door, then reaching for my sisters and myself and saying, "It's just the four of us now."

But then, through his own tears and breaking heart, Dad also said,"Just remember that our lives here on earth are temporary. Death is not the end. Our lives are like a flower that blooms and is here for a short season and then passes away. God will give us the strength to continue, to keep going on, even though Mom is no longer here. Our time is not up yet. God still has a purpose for us." As I was to find out in the months to come, He gives more abundantly than we can ever ask for or even hope to receive.

God has been so gracious and without His strength and encouragement I can't even begin to imagine what the last few years might have been like. He brought people into our lives just when we needed them. When the hard days and tough moments came, He was right there just waiting to provide exactly what we needed - whether a card in the mail, a hug from a friend or other believers to lift us up.

But keeping in mind the thought that we are here for a season, that our lives are like a flower that blooms and then fades, has been a true comfort. Realizing that God put us here for a purpose and once His purpose is finished, He'll take us home. Those simple words that Dad reminded us of that night did so much to help the grieving process. As a believer in Christ, I can't imagine anything more glorious than living for Him here on earth and sometime in the future receiving my heavenly reward!

Through Mom's death I've come to realize just how temporal my life is and to remember my goal and purpose in life - to serve Christ. To run the Christian race faithfully, serving Him in what He desires me to do. Who knows when God will take me away from this earth and will I be able to say I lived my life for Him?

As Paul says in II Timothy 4:7..."I have fought the fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith". That always refreshes me and challenges me to think and do those things that are eternal instead of focusing on the temporary things that really don't matter. Can I say like Paul at the end of my life, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith? While this verse is encouraging and challenging to me, it also brings back memories of Mom and the wonderful example of a wife and mother she tried to instill in my sisters and myself.

One thing I recall Dad saying so clearly after Mom died was, "God put her on earth to do what He wanted her to do and she has accomplished it. She finished the race. She ministered, encouraged, helped those to whom He desired her to and now she has her reward. She, like Paul, finished the course. She kept the faith."

Through the tough time of Mom's illness and death, God taught me so much! He taught me to lean and depend on Him more than ever! He reminded me to have heavenly mindset, to set my focus on things above, because things on this earth will vanish away! And He also challenged me through II Timothy 4:7, which is my true desire and hope - to fight the fight, to finish the course and most importantly...to keep the faith!