“V”ictory

Becky became “Aunt Becky” to Hershey, who my husband and I adopted, at a humane society fundraiser. She loved animals! Photo © Diane Weidenbenner

Thursday, April 25, around 11:45 p.m., my good friend lost her battle against lymphoma. She was a very special person, as most people who knew her will tell you. She was a blessing and incredible friend to me both at work and in my personal life. Her name was Becky and she was a Christian.

She’d been diagnosed with aggressive non-Hodgkins lymphoma in January (after successfully beating another type of lymphoma last year.) I am grateful that she is no longer sufffering, no longer in pain. I also am saddened by her absence in my life and many others who loved her very much, including her sister who had taken care of her for the past six months.

As a Christian, I intellectually know that those who believe in God and accept Christ into their lives do not die a spiritual death. John 11:25-26 states, “…I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die…” These bodies are on loan to us and as you get older, you sometimes wish you could trade them in for a newer model!

I know Becky is in a better place and that she is hopefully with her parents, her dog Buddy and all the other little lovable creatures that she rescued while on Earth. I hope for the same thing when I die.

Intellectually knowing and believing in my heart are two different things. For comfort, I turned to the Word of God for a refresher course in what lies ahead for us, so I could picture Becky in a better place, experiencing God’s perfect love.

Here’s where I’ve found hope, peace and solace these past few days:

• We have a birthday and a day that we die and God is aware of both. (Hebrews 9:27). God has given each of us a set number of days on Earth. “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be,” says Psalm 139:16. And the well-known verse in Ecclesiastes (3:2).
• There is no “down” time. When we are not here on Earth, we are with the Lord. Jesus assured the thief on the cross that he would meet him at the moment of death (Luke 23:39-43). God promises that he will come to take us home (Psalm 23:4). “For the believer, death is the gateway into the promise of eternal life as we shed our earthly bodies to enter into the presence of God (1 Corinthians 15:50-53). My friend Becky is with God, her Creator, her Savior. I can’t think of a better place that I’d rather be.
• Jesus has already prepared a place for us, with him. “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also,” John 14:1-3).
• Becky is “home.” This place is not our home and it’s a good reminder that while we have loving companions on this journey, our eternal life will be experiencing all that love, and then some! “Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight … I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord,” 2 Cor. 5:6-8.

My dear Becky – you made my days brighter and more lovely. I’m glad you are at peace, with God, and all those you have loved. I miss you and my heart is heavy with sadness. Until we see each other again, I will remember you fondly. Give Buddy a hug for me!