My cousin Ellen passed away five years ago this week. Ellen had responded to an altar call many years before, following a performance by my Christian comedy act Isaac Air Freight. And so did our mutual grandmother, by the way (Grandma died a few years later).
Ellen was quirky, feisty, and fiercely loving—traits she shared with our grandmother. So, are she and Grandma in heaven now, because they “got saved”? Only God can answer that. But I will say this: something real happened in their hearts.
It’s not how much we know, after all, neither is it the words we say nor the rituals we observe, that reserves a place for us in our Father’s house (2 Corinthians 5:1). It’s the condition of our hearts. We’re in this world to learn to love God and others–the two inseparable commandments upon which hang all the law and prophets (Matthew 22:40). That means, conversely, that at some point we must learn we’re not here to merely fulfill the demands of these temporal bodies. Anyone can understand this. It’s not an intellectual struggle, it’s a child’s struggle, a struggle of the will. Who will win, me or God? If I win, I lose, if God wins, I win. It’s the paradox of pride.
So, why would God leave us in a broken world with finite brains and faulty senses to learn such a weighty lesson? I can’t conclusively answer that, but I will say that there seems to be a certain efficacy to it. After all, if it’s not about how much we know but how much we love, then a broken world full of contentious, hard-to-love creatures like ourselves might just be the best place to learn it.
I choose to believe my cousin Ellen learned it, and that even as I type this she and Grandma are whole and complete…
In our Father’s house.
Amen.
matthew 47:15 clap & shout o heavens
What hope!
Awesome truth
I am happy for both your late cousin and your grandmother. How wonderful!
They surely are – whole and complete🙏💫💫
This is deeply moving. When my cousin Lanie drowned less than a month before her 39th birthday, I was devastated. We had talked on the phone for over an hour the night before her tragic death, and I was writing an email to her, full of plans for her upcoming birthday, when she died. My grief was overwhelming, particularly because I was afraid that she hadn’t made it into heaven. Two years later, I was still mourning the loss of my precious cousin.
Lanie automatically signed all of her emails with this poem: ‘Work like you don’t need the money. Love like you’ve never been hurt. Dance like nobody’s watching. Sing like nobody’s listening. Live like it’s heaven on earth.’ Exactly two years and two days after her death, a massive dust storm hit our town. After the storm ended, I walked out the front door to get the mail. I saw something shiny lying in the dirt beside our front porch. I picked it up. It was a long, rectangular metal dog tag, blank on one side, with Lanie’s favorite poem engraved on the front!
Is my precious cousin in heaven with the Lord? I believe that dog tag blowing into our yard during the dust storm was the Lord’s way of letting me know. <3
Oh, Linda, such a hard lesson. But clearly not a wasted one–for a heart so willing to learn.
as for 51st
Hello, Numbrhood. My cousin would be 51 if she were still alive today.
you mentioned 39
speaking of that it’s been the anniversary of whitney drowning
Yes, on February 11, 2012, Whitney Houston drowned. And my cousin drowned in 2011 at the age of 39.
as of 2013
how many stripes in the usa flag
Hi Rudy! There are 13 stripes, representing the first 13 states. Do you know how many stars are on the USA flag?
50 stars & 13 stripes 11
You got it!!
take it away
Okay! :- D
catch phrase from canales
linda i left a math question on 8 × 8
Beautiful.
Heartfelt, meaningful, beautiful! Thank you, my friend! ☺️❣️
My privilege, Dori.
Mitch, this resonates in my heart and soul. I’m sorry for your Earthly losses. You so eloquently expressed how I feel about salvation. I had to be completely alone before I truly “died” to self. I surrender daily (hourly!). “He that loveth not, knoweth not God for God is love, beloved, let us love one another” (yes, John!) and yes, Jesus, the two greatest commandments you gave us is to love God first with everything in us (heart, soul, innards) and love our neighbor as ourselves. I’m utterly dependent on Christ. I have no doubt, like your precious cousin and Grandma, there will be a great reunion with those that have surrendered their own wills to that our Father…in HIS house! You are a blessing to us! Thank you for sharing wisdom, your wonderful words, and I’m excited to visit the link, too. Many blessings, Mitch!
If anyone knows about surrendering their will to God’s, it’s you, Karla. And it shows in every encouraging, hopeful word you write, and–I have no doubt–speak. Blessings back, dear friend.
Thank you, my dear friend. I appreciate you so much. 🙏🏻
❤️
❤️🤗
Beautiful.
I’m sorry for the loss of your beloved cousin and grandma. Thank you for emphasizing why we’re in this magnificent world and what we must do in addition to loving God-and that is to love the unlovable.
Amen, Nancy.
Amen.
Made me cray again, Mitch. In a good and deep way! Thank you for this. And yes, I believe your cousin are whole and complete in our Father’s house. I am in the middle of the Screwtape Letters. C.S. Lewis (or Jack as he like to be called) was so incredibly insightful about human nature. Thank you for guiding me back to him (Jack) and Him.
So glad you’re enjoying Jack’s wisdom and God’s presence, Joanne.
A loving tribute to them both.
Nice Post. I needed it after last night. And I didn’t catch up on reading until after I posted.
Thank you, Mitch. I have been struggling with the ‘Why on earth did He abandon me in this dreadful place?’ question recently. Your tentative explanation makes sense and is comforting. I have copied out those two paragraphs so that I don’t lose them, and will be thinking them over. : )
So glad it spoke to you when you needed to hear it, Rosie.
“He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” Jesus, as recorded in John 5:24
5:49
Mitch,
It’s the hope we hold on to for sure.
Thank you, Gary
Gary Avants Forbear Productions * *garyavants66@gmail.com garyavants66@gmail.com
I am late to the party reading this, but darn it, you did it again, Mitch. You made my eyes leak! What a beautiful testament of faith and the certainty available to us in the midst of the monumental uncertainty of life. Blessings to you as you remember and grieve your cousin and grandmother.
Thank you so much, my friend.
Beautiful!
Thank you, Meonn.