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Impact Time
Posted by
Bob Fetherlin
,
07 March 2007
·
714 views
On Sunday, February 25, we gathered as family at Esther's mother's apartment just north of Pittsburgh. There were twelve of us. Knowing Mother has an asbestos-induced lung cancer with only a short time to live, our purpose was to honor and thank her, expressing our love. We said the kind of things that would normally be said at a funeral.
We began by gathering around the piano to sing her favorite hymns as she accompanied. The first one was "Like a River Glorious." She sang and played heartily while the rest of us wept, singing as well as we could as the tears flowed. Then we sat in a circle in the living room, four generations of us, to share wonderful memories and thank Mother for her faithfulness to Christ, us, and the church. It was impact time because the joy of loving and following Jesus, of living out Christ-honoring values, of being worshippers, of pouring out our lives in service to God and others . . . all of these were powerfully reinforced in our lives. It was a never-to-be-forgotten time.
The journey of trusting God continues. We know that Mother was exposed to asbestos. Her children were probably exposed to it as well during their growing up years in the same houses. This means an elevated risk that this same kind of cancer could appear in our family again in the years ahead. With this troubling reality, we are driven once again to trust our heavenly Father.
We are so, so thankful to have Christ in our lives . . . to be able to face death with overwhelming hope . . . to know that to die is gain!
We began by gathering around the piano to sing her favorite hymns as she accompanied. The first one was "Like a River Glorious." She sang and played heartily while the rest of us wept, singing as well as we could as the tears flowed. Then we sat in a circle in the living room, four generations of us, to share wonderful memories and thank Mother for her faithfulness to Christ, us, and the church. It was impact time because the joy of loving and following Jesus, of living out Christ-honoring values, of being worshippers, of pouring out our lives in service to God and others . . . all of these were powerfully reinforced in our lives. It was a never-to-be-forgotten time.
The journey of trusting God continues. We know that Mother was exposed to asbestos. Her children were probably exposed to it as well during their growing up years in the same houses. This means an elevated risk that this same kind of cancer could appear in our family again in the years ahead. With this troubling reality, we are driven once again to trust our heavenly Father.
We are so, so thankful to have Christ in our lives . . . to be able to face death with overwhelming hope . . . to know that to die is gain!
