Why I believe there is life after death and I have no fear...

This is not a testimonial about "why I believe in Jesus" and yet I most certainly do. This is more about the proof that I have that there is another place we go to after our life on earth is done.

In 1990 my Dad was diagnosed with Terminal Lung Cancer, he was 64 years old. He was a Deputy VP for Lockheed Martin and was mandated to have Wellness checks and X-rays every year which he did. He started running a low grade fever and just didn't feel well. Evidently between his lungs was a Tumor the size of a grapefruit that had been growing for 20 years- but the X-rays didn't catch it. My Mom was emotionally fragile so it was up to me to tell Dad of his inoperable tumor. 

I can still see him sitting on a small chair in the backyard with the sun covering him, slumped over and looking down as he cleaned his finger nails. This man that had always been a man of pride and who was larger than life to me now looked so humble and frail and I had to go to him and tell him this horrible news. In quietness he accepted the diagnosis and began to formulate a plan to beat this Cancer.

He wanted to try whatever he could to live and radiation was his only option. I went with them to the doctors appointments and tried to keep our spirits up. I was eventually put in place to handle all of the financial decisions while looking out for my Moms well being as she watched her beloved fight the Big Fight. I was a married mother of a beautiful young teenage girl and I also worked a full time+ high stress job in the Tech world of Silicon Valley. Everything was always go, Go, GO!! 

I was definitely being stretched beyond what I thought I could handle. People would come up to me at work, who knew what I was going through, and ask how was I able to cope? All I could say was... Jesus~ I wasn't preaching it or beating people over the head with my Bible. People could just see a light in me and they knew there had to be something or Someone that was providing me the power to push through. I find it interesting that when we are at the end of ourselves, and we have nothing left to give, is when The Spirit within us can really soar. I would get up early every morning before work and cry out to Jesus for my Dad to recover and ask for the strength I needed to make it each and every day. 

When Dad was lying in the hospital room those last days the family would take turns sitting with him. He was getting sicker and sicker. One night as he and I were likely watching football we finally got into some serious conversations. I confirmed that he was a believer in Jesus and I told him that it was ok for him to stop fighting and rest in God's care. His relationship with the Lord was different than mine but he had one. He felt that the Golf Course was were he would have church on Sunday mornings. He worked 7 days a week for years and years and Sunday mornings were his respite time. I'll never forget his response to my statement of letting go- tearfully he said, "but what will happen to your Mother?" Choking back my tears I told him, "Don't worry I will take care of her!!" I reassured him that I would always make sure she had all she needed. 

A few days later we were all gathered together at the hospital waiting... I went off and called for one of the Pastors from my church to come and pray. When I went back to the room, no one but Dad was there. I quickly went to the waiting room and asked why Dad was alone? They stated that the attendants told them that it wouldn't be long now and that it was best to leave him alone. I said WHAT??!! I had heard that the hearing was the last to go. I ordered (practically) everyone to get in that room and we were going to surround him and pray. As we gathered around him we began to sing hymns while encouraging him to let go and go to Jesus. Painting the picture of Jesus standing there with outstretched arms ready to take Dad home. 

At this time Dad was past consciousness given enough Morphine to keep him "comfortable". He just laid there with labored breathing and the death rattle coming out from him. The Pastor from the church came and we all prayed together. I'm not sure if he stayed or not but the last thing I heard Dad say- without fear was- "Ok, let's go!" And he breathed his last breath.

He was definitely talking to Someone and he was ready to enter into his next life!! Whether you believe or not, I know it's true. There is another life after our death on this earth. The question is where do you want to spend yours- Heaven or Hell? I have no fear of death because, like Dad, my Jesus will be there waiting to take me home. I am of the belief that when we pass into Heaven we will not only see Jesus face to face but we will see those others who have believed and gone before us. 

I am so thankful for my relationship with Jesus these past 40 years and all of the help and strength He has given me through His Spirit. I look forward to those days of no more sorrow, no more sickness and no more pain- spending all Eternity learning whatever it is God has in store for me, would you like to say the same? None of us knows when our time on earth is up. Simply ask Jesus into your heart today and you too can have that Blessed assurance of where you will go in your next life!

These song Lyrics pretty much say it all...

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

And then one day, I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

 

Anchor 

(a person or thing that provides stability or confidence in an otherwise uncertain situation)

2020 started out as the year of Vision. In January hope abounded in peoples minds and lives. This would be the year of change and victory over the things of the past that has weighed so many of us down. As the days and months have progressed, our hopes and dreams seemed to fly out of the window as water being dumped out of a bucket falling to the dirt below causing nothing but mud and muck wherever it lands.

How do we maintain or regain hope and peace in a time of so much fear and uncertainty? We must find something to hold on to while the things of life swirl haphazardly around us. 

Recently we moved to a home along side a flowing River. Many lessons can be found here. I have learned that with fishing there are many different types of ways to fish. You can fish from a pier, the bank, standing in water, from an inner-tube, from a small boat, a large boat and even a Kayak. Some ways have the potential to be more successful than others. It also depends on what you are fishing for. 

While fishing on the River one has to be mindful of the terrain of the ground at the bottom of the water bed along with the current of the water. A rocky, shallow and weedy bed might be more advantageous than a vast deep cavern. You can certainly take a Kayak out on the River and fish however it’s a lot more work that going out on a River boat with a trolling motor and an anchor.

An anchor can be a very helpful tool for someone who decides to fish in some type of floating apparatus. If one does not have an anchor they are subject to the wind and the ebb and flow of the current. Fishing can be done this way but it takes a lot more effort than using an anchor. In some cases even two anchors work best depending on the size of the vessel you are in. With one anchor only at the starboard side or front of a boat it limits movement there but at the opposite end or port side of the boat it is free to continue to move with the flow of the River. With two anchors in place the movement of the boat is more constrained. 

Why all of this talk about anchors? Well, I believe that what we need to find, as the turmoil of the world surrounds us, is something that will keep us in place. Something that will keep us secure enabling us to remain unmoved.

For me it is my Faith in God that I hold on to that keeps my feet resolute and unwavering. We all have a level of faith, whether it is faith that the sun will rise and set day after day or that the elevator we get in will not fall to the ground but move to the floor needed. We have faith that when we put the key in the ignition the car will start and that while at the stop light the other cars will go and stop as directed by the traffic lights. But what happens when our faith in these things falters? Someone runs a red light, the car doesn’t start, the elevator has a malfunction? In some cases this could be life threatening. We can become angry and bitter blaming everything and everyone around us that things didn’t turn out the way we expected them to.

Over these past 40 years I have experienced many ups and downs, many ebbs and flows in the River of my life on this earth. On that day in January 1980 when I decided to accept Jesus into my broken and drug filled life, I had come to a place where I realized after 23 years of living that I needed help. I needed Someone to help navigate me down the River of my life- Who knew the terrain I would move over and through- Someone Who could shelter me through the storms that I was certain to experience, Someone Who loved me just as I was, Who forgave me of my wrong doings and mistakes and Who would help me to become all that I was created to be, Someone who would keep me anchored while everything around me could be falling apart.

Once I accepted Jesus into my life all trials have not dispersed, far from it. But when I come up against the challenges I am able to overcome them because I personally know the Savior of the World and His very Spirit lives in me to guide me and direct me each step of the way. I have a road map- the Bible, to learn from of others who walked with Him, along with those who never met Him and still believed. To read and study of how the earth began and what we can expect in the future. To see what Jesus said while He lived on this earth.

Since being a Christian I have gone through divorce, betrayal, abandonment, life threatening illnesses, death of those nearest to me, financial struggles… but through it all I can truly say it is well with my soul! Not because I have the ability to right my own ship but because I am anchored down with the Presence of God in my life. He’s in front of me, behind me, beside me and within me. The Peace of God, through His very Spirit, abides deep within me. Jesus is the author of Peace and His very being is Love. Love for me and all of His Creation.

By seeing His faithfulness time after time in my own life I can agree with the Apostle Paul who said…

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31 NIV

In closing please know that there is Someone out there Who wants to be your guide, your friend, the lover of your soul and your anchor. Won’t you ask Him in?

This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Hebrews 6:19 NLT