A Cloud of Witnesses
How do we celebrate life in the midst of the hard? How do we grieve and still find peace and rest; find joy despite the sadness?
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith". ~ Hebrews 11:13-16
Lord, I can't live in this place of sadness and hopelessness.
Tears I must accept, but this awful feeling that my fate is sealed and I am marching to the grave in sadness is simply suffocating me.
My focus on my losses of time spent with my beloved family in years to come accomplishes nothing. It only makes me sad and despairing.
Lord, help me focus on all you have given me, not on what I am losing.
Help me to focus on parting gifts of love and legacy that will remain when I depart.
Help me to see myself in that heavenly cloud of witness, cheering each friend and family member on to trust you entirely, to love and live for you and to go out with all guns firing, faithful to the end!
Knowing I am going to join the ranks of the faithful who have gone before me.
Knowing I am going to join the ranks of the faithful who have gone before me, rather than slip into silence and nothingness, gives me purpose and direction.
It helps me to see that my prayers and cheers for them is a role I can play until they come home and we are together once again!
Father, I want all of my life and all I have lived for that was good and was of you to echo not just through eternity, but in the lives of those I have had the privilege to love and be loved by.
Please help me to accept my new assignment as Jesus did when He left his earthly family and friends to go to be with the Father and to make intercession for them continually before the throne.
Lord, let me be that person.
Let me be that lover of souls who sees all the challenges and hardships that they face, but who also sees the face of Jesus, always encouraging them to love you first, ever reminding them that what they say they believe, is all true!
Thank you that my family and friends will be with me for eternity and in a second I will be standing at the front door, welcoming them home!
~ By Carol Jefferies. Carol was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, in spring 2016. On January 17, 2018 she went home to be with the Lord. To learn more of Carol's story, click here.