Recently one of my closest friends passed away after a battle with breast cancer. It was so disheartening. The doctors thought they had gotten it all. Then, when she went for reconstruction, they discovered it had metastasized to her liver, abdomen, lung and brain. She went very quickly and the lesions on her brain left her confused. At the end it wasn’t clear if she actually knew who I was or if she just thought I was a nice woman that cared enough to call every day.
She left behind friends and family confused as to why her body betrayed her so quickly and unexpectedly. She was supposed to be okay but then, she wasn’t. It was hard to find comfort in the loss, but I was comforted. Our friendship was based on the best foundation: our shared love of God.
I don’t know why she passed at such a young age, but I do know where she is. I know she’s with our heavenly Father surrounded by His love. I know she’s free from the pain of the cancer eating away at her and the chemo and radiation that made her so sick. I know she feels joy in a way she never did on earth. I miss my friend, but I know she’s happy where she is. That is the true gift of faith.
I was able to share that faith with her boyfriend who ached from the loss. I compared it to our time in the womb compared to our time on earth. Nine months is a fraction of the number of years we spend on this earth. And our time on earth is infinitesimal compared to the eternity we’ll spend with God. We don’t need to fear death because we know there is so much more awaiting us afterwards. We will cry over the loss of our loved ones, but that sadness is tempered by joy because we know this is only a temporary blip, a brief period of time apart that will end in an eternity together.
Romans 8:38-39 ESV “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Photo by Billy Pasco on Unsplash
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