2 Corinthians 5:8
King James Version
8 We are confident, I say,
and willing rather to be absent from the body,
and to be present with the Lord.
It's something that perplexes me.
This thing about taking out stuff.
Things that belong to someone who've passed on.
You know, like what they do in the movies.
Once a person's gone, you put their stuff in boxes.
And you store it away.
Or give it away.
Others throw it away.
Some even sell it.
Others burn the clothes.
Now, why would you do that?
What superstition could be attached to those?
I don't know about you but I can't take away that person's stuff.
Because I love that person.
I want to preserve EVERY memory of that person.
Why would I throw away what I saw them wear?
At least, their favorite clothes.
Their favorite cups.
Their favorite little things.
The scent they've left in their clothes.
Our favorite pictures of them.
Pictures that depict them as they are.
Pictures that have captured their colors, and personality.
Sure, it's mostly digital now.
Still, I have hard copies.
I'm a tactile person, I like stuff I can hold.
GOD gave us hands, didn't He?
So, what's a few things.
Or even a section of a room to preserve for that person?
How can I say I don't have the heart, or space, to keep them?
How can I ever scrap out such everyday memories?
How can I throw away wonderful memories?
I never look to the big stuff.
I always look to the simple, everyday stuff.
The heartfelt stuff.
It's not an altar.
If fresh flowers and a candle can be called such.
A few pictures to remember them by.
For me, it's just preserving a section of the room that person was in.
The walls that heard their laughter, or tears.
A sacred space reserved for them.
Would I want one for myself?
No.
I want it for them, as I live.
That's how much I love them.
And honor the life GOD gave them.
They were gifted to us by GOD.
Why should I forget them?
We hold the memory forever.
Yeah, but you need to move on, people say.
Move on to what?
To a world that is not of CHRIST?
To a world that is full of illusion?
To a world that belongs to the fallen one?
I'd much rather preserve the sacred memories of my loved ones.
And wait for that glorious day, as I work for CHRIST each day.
We shall all be changed during the Rapture.
I look forward to the Rapture, wherein the dead will join JESUS first.
In our new, changed bodies.
1 Corinthians 15:51-53
King James Version
51 Behold,
I shew you a mystery;
We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption,
and this mortal must put on immortality.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
King James Version
16 For the Lord himself
shall descend from heaven
with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God:
and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
With each item preserved, I remember each day with that person.
Of course, that's also if you've spent each day with that person.
I guess others can box things up, if they haven't spent much time together.
Perhaps, the pain is too great?
But in my beloved sister's case, it's all so different.
She was loved, and cared for.
She was cherished.
She was honored.
And she will be remembered forever.
The same goes for my father.
And brother.
And all who have gone on.
Ahead of me.
Related material:
Who Shall DWELL in GOD's Holy Hill?
Image: Clipart Library
