Stepping on Shore

The pictures I posted today are of Palm Beach in Florida. Matt and I had the wonderful opportunity to take a very short vacation to Palm Beach...just the two of us...for one weekend. The sand was soft and warm and the white noise the waves made, as they swept in and out of the shore line, was so calming. I'm not sure why, but something about sand, water, sunshine, and warmth brings peace to weary souls.

As I blog today and post this picture I am heavy hearted. On Sunday morning a girl I knew from Milwaukee Lutheran High School passed away in her sleep. She was only 35 years old - just two grade levels behind me and one grade level ahead of my sister, Karla. Although I seldom hear the words..."You've got your whole life ahead of you", I still can't help but feel 35 is still young and there are many more elements of life to enjoy. I understand that death is certain for all of us but when someone your age passes....you not only reaffirm the reality of death but you empathize the feelings. Oh... I've been thinking what it must have been like for her...did she die alone? Did she feel pain? As a parent I empathize with her parents and have already crossed the line by wondering what I would do should this ever happen to one of my daughters.... I cross the line in my mind a lot lately. I cross to where I shouldn't and take on grief I don't yet have the strength and tools to handle.

I am reminded in this specific post exactly why I titled my blog "This Side of Heaven". You see....I cross the line. I cross the line, in times like this, to where faith ends and fear begins...to where hope is in doubt and I question God's love. I cross the line when I convince myself that this wonderful young woman missed out on so many things in this life that she would have loved to experience. I cross the line when I shudder to think that she may have suffered before dying and lastly.... I cross the line when the world and all of her agendas, celebrations, and family ties mean more to me than the opportunity to rest in the loving arms of our Lord.

It's for these very reasons that I chose the title I did, "This Side of Heaven". This life we live now, on this side of Heaven, can never become more important to us than the life we are created to receive in Heaven through Jesus. We are only as far from our loved ones in Heaven as our days left on this earth and praise God we have the hope and assurance of eternal life in Heaven because of His Son, our Savior's sacrifice.

I am completely convinced that God views death in such a different way than we do. When we cry and mourn...He says, "I understand, I've felt it too"....When we feel deep despair and fear...He says, "I am really here...waiting, fear not"....And when we loose our love for life and see no value in living....He says, "The best is yet to come, trust me". God views death as a means to bring us to be with Him....and He has been waiting for each one of us to be with him since the beginning of creation.

It's at moments of heartbreak and despair that I am reminded of a song I heard often as a child called "Finally Home". The song is by Don Wyrtzen and the lyrics read...Oh just think of stepping on shore and finding you're in Heaven, of touching a hand and finding it God's, of breathing new air and finding it celestial, of waking up in glory and finding you are home.

NOTHING...absolutely nothing...in this life is worth clinging to or staying behind for when we are finally called home to our Savior's waiting arms. If earthly shores bring peace to the weariest of souls just imagine the peace that awaits when we finally walk with our Lord, our family, and our friends on the warm shores of Heaven.