Purple Hearts

My mother-in-law Vonda is wondering why she is still here.

She is 85, and she has chronic COPD, which is a respiratory ailment.  She's had asthma her whole life, and her lungs are just tired.  She coughs a lot, which wears her out.  She can't seem to get her breath after the simplest of things -- getting up from a chair.  She has to be on oxygen all the time.  She is weary.

Her husband Ellis is already with God; he died in 2003 and went on to the presence of Jesus.  She wants to join him, and vacillates between the fear of leaving and the joy of knowing what awaits her.  You can imagine the weariness in which this conflict plus her physical condition leaves her.  She has often said "I'll be glad when this is over."  I can't blame her.

So what is she doing here?  We are all here until our life's mission is accomplished.  It is difficult to understand how her mission is not finished; she has lived a life devoted to God, to others, to ministry.  It's easy to look at her and think 'good grief, what else is left for you to do in your condition?'

All I can think of is this:  pray.  This woman has the ear of God.  She prays and He answers.  I don't know how she does it or why, but I do know that her prayers sustain many people.  She may not be physically fighting, but she is doing some serious spiritual battle.  She is a warrior.

I reminded her of this recently.  It didn't really give her much comfort -- but maybe just the reminder encouraged her.  I hope so.

She is a dear one.  It will break my heart to lose her.  But it will also give me great joy, and I will always have her example to remind me -- our ministry is never finished until it is finished.  Then and only then do we go home.

"For me to live is Christ, to die is gain."  
                                  -- Philippians 1:21