Rest In Peace

Rest In Peace

The righteous pass away; the godly often die before their time. And no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come. For the godly who die will rest in peace. –Isaiah 57:1-2

When Hope was a couple of weeks old, we went to the Christmas program at our church. As we sat in the balcony, enjoying the beauty of the music and pageantry, it hit me: I will never get to enjoy music with Hope. She will never sing in the children’s choir. We will never sample rich desserts together or explore interesting places, observe amazing art or architecture. The tears began to drip down my face onto Hope as I started to let go of the dreams I had for sharing with her all the good things life in this world has to offer.

But even as the music swelled, I began to consider what was ahead for Hope. No, she wouldn’t enjoy a fine orchestra here with me, but surely the music in the halls of heaven will be finer! As I thought through all of the things I would not be able to share with her, I began to see how much better heaven’s version will be.

Over the coming weeks, I also began to consider other earthly things Hope would “miss out on.” She would miss out on allergies and acne, fighting weight gain and feeling left out, broken dreams and broken hearts. She would leave a world marked by crime and cruelty, disease and disappointment, for one of wholeness, richness, perfected beauty, and peace.

I began to see that Hope’s brief life on earth and quick deliverance into eternal life in the presence of God was not cruel or tragic. It was, in many ways, a gift to her, a protection from the evil to come. Not that it felt less cruel or tragic to me. I felt robbed. I felt cheated. Shortly after that I wrote in my journal:

I don’t want to lose Hope. I would like to see her grow. I would like to know her as an adult. But I also know that this life is filled with pain. And I don’t think it is a tragedy that she will have the opportunity to be spared from evil, from the pain of this life, and be in the presence of God. This is what I believe. It is not necessarily how I feel. But believing this makes a difference in how I feel.

My Protector, I have believed the lie that anything less than a long life on this earth is a tragedy. But death takes people away from an evil world. Use this truth to change how I feel so I can rest in the peace of death.

DIGGING DEEPER