Hard to Be Sad

I recently lost my next door neighbor of 33 years.  She was a brilliant thinker, a great tutor, a great educator and a strong Christian.  She lived to be 71 years old but her face only showed about 50 of those years.  One of the most gentle and kind people that you would ever want to meet, Ms. Myrtle Williamson was a very special person.  She was extremely active in the church and she taught Sunday school.  She taught in the "special needs" division of Old Shell Road elementary school and Augusta Evans school for many, many years.  What is even more remarkable about all of her accomplishments is that she achieved many of them while battling a debilitating case of rheumatoid arthritis.

Ms. Williamson was a great example of the scripture in Ephesians 3:20.  The power of God was at work in her mangled, bent and broken body to keep her for all of those years and through her He was able to do exceedingly above all she could ask or think.  Hundreds of kids have sat in her den and received tutoring in math, English, speech and many other subjects.   I don't remember when her condition reached the point where her mobility was limited but I know she suffered for as long as my memory serves.  Yet she lived without complaint.  Many of us get up in the morning and start it off with a complaint, she began her days with praise and adoration for God.  Atheists use the fact that God allows suffering to point to a severe character flaw in our mighty God yet she never once questioned God that I am aware of.  She simply lived every day to worship God.  Her thick study bible was worn out from her intimate and quiet times with God.  We don't know why certain things happen or why God allows suffering but we who worship God understand that ALL things work together for our good when we've been called according to the purpose of God and when we love the Lord.

Ms. Williamson or "Lil Sister" as she was affectionately called by everyone that was  close to her, departed this life on Christmas Eve 2011.  Her mother passed away fifteen years ago also on Christmas Eve.  She had also lost a nephew a few weeks earlier to a senseless act of violence and her grief was so heavy that she could no longer fight this fight down here.  However, it is very difficult for me to be sad.  She lived a rich and full life and she sowed seeds of righteousness into the lives of so many people that her legacy will never die.  I also have a hard time being sad because I know that she now resides in a place where rheumatoid arthritis cannot touch her anymore.  Her limbs are free from pain.  She doesn't have to take another pill or use crutches ever again.  She's been glorified and that to me is so sweet.  She dealt with hell here and now she can, in the words of the Mighty Clouds of Joy, "walk around heaven, all day!"  That gives me comfort knowing that she's in paradise now.  Her family should rest easy knowing that she is safe in the arms of the Master.  I know that I was hurt when I first received the news, but the more that I thought about it, if there was anyone that deserved to get a glorified body, it was Lil Sister.  She needed to leave here and God saw fit to call her home from battle.

Whenever you lose a loved one, it is very difficult.  If it is a sudden loss, that's an even heavier burden to bear.  When death strikes, we have to understand that death is something that is the final outworking of sin.  Sin brought death into the world but God even gave us a way to escape death.  We have Christ Jesus who took the sting out of death and took the victory away from the grave.m  Jesus said in John 6 that the one that believes in Him, who eats his flesh and drinks his blood will never die.  I'm glad to report that we have been freed from the power of death through the life of Christ!  If you are reading this and you have not accepted the call to believe in Christ, please don't hesitate.  The consequences are so grave because not only is the first death inevitable, the second death awaits all who reject Christ Jesus.  When I die, I have the assurance that I will live with Jesus for eternity.  Knowing that makes it hard to be sad.  When Christian soldiers are called home, the pain of their loss is real, but when the pain subsides, the joy of knowing where they are and Who they are with makes everything alright.  Be blessed and if you've suffered loss recently, may God give you the peace that surpasses all understanding.