Living, Dying, Faith and Salvation
4:40 PM Posted In My Walk with God Edit This
This blog is not intended to “preach” fire and brimstone or scare people into salvation by asking the unsuccessful question, “Do you know where you will go if you left this earth today?” Trust me, I considered myself agnostic/atheist about 4 years ago. That question never led me to give my life to Jesus. I am only sorting through my own thoughts, processing my own emotions on death and sharing those thoughts with anyone who cares to read due to so many loved ones passing from this earth. So, comments are always welcomed but I am certainly not starting any kind of debate here…
Death has been in the back of my mind for a couple of years now. As a lot of you know, I was diagnosed with Stage IIIC Ovarian Cancer back in 2008. Although I am in remission, I still have to get past the 5-6 year “danger zone” before my chances of recurrence is lessened. As to date, I have a 50-80% the cancer may come back.
This past year alone, I have had someone close to me pass away and know of people who have passed away at an early age. My uncle Ronnie passed away at the age of 58 from cancer. My best friend lost her grandmother, Elizabeth Jarosin. A high school schoolmate ended her life at the age of 37. And 32 year-old Misty Williams recently passed away of cancer. This is all within 4 months, and we just started the month of April.
I think it would be safe to say that both believers and non-believers ask the question, “Why God?” at one point in our lives when it comes to the death of a loved one lost too soon. Losing a loved one at a young age or losing a loved one who has small children is hard for us to grasp. I often find myself asking the same question while grieving… "WHY?” I think the closest I have ever been to God through prayer and seeking His Truth was the 2007 horrific accident that claimed the lives of Siran Stacey’s wife and four children. For quite some time, I would ask “Why those precious young innocent children?” “Why would this happen to such a beautiful family?” I would wake up in the middle of the night interceding through prayer and asking God to give me some of the pain Siran was enduring. I will forever remember the comfort that I received from God during those times and I was not even a part of the immediate family. How much more was God comforting the loved ones? Something else that comforted me was I knew the Stacey family would be seen again by many in Heaven.
This is where I ask that you read my first paragraph over because some might think I am about to get “preachy or spooky spiritual.”
I am in the middle of reading a book called, “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn. Ha! I am in the middle of reading MANY books right about now. Anyway, I read the following and it really made me start thinking.
“Earth is an in-between world touched by both Heaven and Hell. Earth leads directly into Heaven or directly into Hell, affording a choice between the two. The best of life on Earth is a glimpse of Heaven; the worst of life is a glimpse of Hell. For Christians, this present life is the closet they will come to Hell. For unbelievers, it is the closest they will come to Heaven.” –Randy Alcorn
That small but powerful paragraph has my wheels turning!
I have had a lot of emotions and thoughts surfacing lately as I have been reflecting back on the family of Siran Stacy, the death of my uncle due to cancer, lives lost due to cancer and illnesses, my best friend’s grandmother, and the young woman who committed suicide. Although it saddens me that all of these people lost their lives too early…some sadden me more than others. For me, it is the lives of whom I know were not believers that sadden and grieve my heart the most.
Death is inevitable. We will all eventually pass from this earth into the spiritual realm. As a believer in Christ, I know that to be absent of the body is to be present with the Lord. I will go to Heaven and I will be with my Heavenly Father. Of course, there are two sides of that spiritual realm. The other reality is not all people go to Heaven. We ALL have the choice to live life eternally with the Father (Heaven) or live eternally without Him (Hell) but He gives us the free-will to choose. We either accept His Son into our heart or we don’t. Regardless of our choice, we will be face to face with the Father before passing to one side or the other. God doesn’t send people to hell. People choose where eternity will be spent.
Okay, I know some might think that was a little bold or harsh but I felt I had to put a little bit of my “two cents” worth concerning that very important issue. LOL!
I look at my own life, my battle with cancer and my faith. Even with my strong faith… I often wonder if the cancer will come back. Living, dying, faith and salvation has been part of my daily thoughts for the past several years. As a believer, I am not afraid of leaving this earth. To me, if the cancer ever takes my physical body, I have still won! I only pray that I will see many of my friends and family that have not taken the step of faith to accept Christ. I don’t know if it is right or wrong that I don’t beat them over the head with my Bible…hehe just kidding…but I just know that it took me desiring change in my life to accept Christ and receive salvation. I also pray for people to truly understand that no one is promised tomorrow.
Since this blog was somewhat deep, I will end it with a little humor from the book, “Heaven.”
An Indiana cemetery has a tombstone, more than one hundred years old, with the following epitaph:
Pause, stranger, when you pass me by:
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you will be.
So prepare for death and follow me.
An unknown passerby scratched these additional words on the tombstone:
To follow you I’m not content,
Until I know which way you went.
Blessings and love,
Tasha
Death has been in the back of my mind for a couple of years now. As a lot of you know, I was diagnosed with Stage IIIC Ovarian Cancer back in 2008. Although I am in remission, I still have to get past the 5-6 year “danger zone” before my chances of recurrence is lessened. As to date, I have a 50-80% the cancer may come back.
This past year alone, I have had someone close to me pass away and know of people who have passed away at an early age. My uncle Ronnie passed away at the age of 58 from cancer. My best friend lost her grandmother, Elizabeth Jarosin. A high school schoolmate ended her life at the age of 37. And 32 year-old Misty Williams recently passed away of cancer. This is all within 4 months, and we just started the month of April.
I think it would be safe to say that both believers and non-believers ask the question, “Why God?” at one point in our lives when it comes to the death of a loved one lost too soon. Losing a loved one at a young age or losing a loved one who has small children is hard for us to grasp. I often find myself asking the same question while grieving… "WHY?” I think the closest I have ever been to God through prayer and seeking His Truth was the 2007 horrific accident that claimed the lives of Siran Stacey’s wife and four children. For quite some time, I would ask “Why those precious young innocent children?” “Why would this happen to such a beautiful family?” I would wake up in the middle of the night interceding through prayer and asking God to give me some of the pain Siran was enduring. I will forever remember the comfort that I received from God during those times and I was not even a part of the immediate family. How much more was God comforting the loved ones? Something else that comforted me was I knew the Stacey family would be seen again by many in Heaven.
This is where I ask that you read my first paragraph over because some might think I am about to get “preachy or spooky spiritual.”
I am in the middle of reading a book called, “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn. Ha! I am in the middle of reading MANY books right about now. Anyway, I read the following and it really made me start thinking.
“Earth is an in-between world touched by both Heaven and Hell. Earth leads directly into Heaven or directly into Hell, affording a choice between the two. The best of life on Earth is a glimpse of Heaven; the worst of life is a glimpse of Hell. For Christians, this present life is the closet they will come to Hell. For unbelievers, it is the closest they will come to Heaven.” –Randy Alcorn
That small but powerful paragraph has my wheels turning!
I have had a lot of emotions and thoughts surfacing lately as I have been reflecting back on the family of Siran Stacy, the death of my uncle due to cancer, lives lost due to cancer and illnesses, my best friend’s grandmother, and the young woman who committed suicide. Although it saddens me that all of these people lost their lives too early…some sadden me more than others. For me, it is the lives of whom I know were not believers that sadden and grieve my heart the most.
Death is inevitable. We will all eventually pass from this earth into the spiritual realm. As a believer in Christ, I know that to be absent of the body is to be present with the Lord. I will go to Heaven and I will be with my Heavenly Father. Of course, there are two sides of that spiritual realm. The other reality is not all people go to Heaven. We ALL have the choice to live life eternally with the Father (Heaven) or live eternally without Him (Hell) but He gives us the free-will to choose. We either accept His Son into our heart or we don’t. Regardless of our choice, we will be face to face with the Father before passing to one side or the other. God doesn’t send people to hell. People choose where eternity will be spent.
Okay, I know some might think that was a little bold or harsh but I felt I had to put a little bit of my “two cents” worth concerning that very important issue. LOL!
I look at my own life, my battle with cancer and my faith. Even with my strong faith… I often wonder if the cancer will come back. Living, dying, faith and salvation has been part of my daily thoughts for the past several years. As a believer, I am not afraid of leaving this earth. To me, if the cancer ever takes my physical body, I have still won! I only pray that I will see many of my friends and family that have not taken the step of faith to accept Christ. I don’t know if it is right or wrong that I don’t beat them over the head with my Bible…hehe just kidding…but I just know that it took me desiring change in my life to accept Christ and receive salvation. I also pray for people to truly understand that no one is promised tomorrow.
Since this blog was somewhat deep, I will end it with a little humor from the book, “Heaven.”
An Indiana cemetery has a tombstone, more than one hundred years old, with the following epitaph:
Pause, stranger, when you pass me by:
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you will be.
So prepare for death and follow me.
An unknown passerby scratched these additional words on the tombstone:
To follow you I’m not content,
Until I know which way you went.
Blessings and love,
Tasha