The Pledge of Blessed Assurance
Heaven in my View:
The final journey of the young man’s father.
As little children, we gathered around my father as he broke the news. “Your Grandmother passed away”, he quietly said. My siblings and I cried, but then, like sunshine on a cloudy day, my father held us close and told us that death for the Christian is a beautiful thing. Death – a beautiful thing? How could that be? That concept never made sense to us as children, but as we matured in our Christian walk, we understood it better. Little did we know that years later, we would once again gather around my father as he tried to explain the Christian death, but this time he would not be able to hold us close – instead, we would have to let him go.
My father was a strong man, physically and spiritually, so learning about his illness did not concern me much initially. Dad was looking forward to retirement with my mother and spoiling all the grandchildren, but Dad’s illness progressed. Dad had been in and out of the hospital and while some reports gave us hope, others were not as encouraging. It was a Saturday evening when we brought Dad home from the hospital — it was that Monday night when God called him to eternal rest.
That Monday morning in July started with Dad talking about his unwavering faith. He instructed my brothers and I to give him a shave and select an aftershave fragrance for him. We presented him with some of his favorites and he made his selection. Because Dad required oxygen, Mom always made sure that someone was by his side at all times just in case he needed assistance. That Monday afternoon was peaceful, with Dad waking up occasionally but not asking for much. Afternoon gave way to evening and it was my “shift” to attend to Dad’s needs. But fifteen minutes later, my youngest brother came in the room, and fifteen minutes after that, my oldest brother joined us. Shortly thereafter, my sister entered the room and suddenly we found ourselves gathered around his bed. I’m still not quite sure how it happened – we all just kind of showed up, one by one while Dad lay there comfortably asleep. Then, by divine appointment (I believe), my mother came in the room and instantly, my father opened his eyes. He looked at each of us and slowly began to take off his oxygen mask. My mother placed the mask back on my father, but he continued to pull it off. Again, my Mom tried to explain that the oxygen would help him breathe easier, but Dad refused to wear the mask. My older brother then encouraged my Mom to try to place the mask on my Dad once again. But this time, as she attempted to apply the mask, my father lovingly placed his hand on top of hers and removed the mask. He then looked at each one of us and spoke his last words…“I’m passing”.
Tears filled the room as my mother instructed us to say our goodbyes. After my Mom said her parting words, she gently took my father’s hand and began singing “Hold to His hand…God’s unchanging hand”! We all joined in, although our tears became one with the song and the tempo continued to decline with the rhythm of my father’s fleeting breath. We continued to see my Dad off to his new home, but through the power of God, Dad had one last message for his family. For just when we thought it was over, Dad slowly raised his back off the bed, brightly opened his eyes and gazed at the ceiling of the room. As he looked into heaven (I am convinced), I was so overwhelmed that I just started shouting, “I see you Dad…I see you”! And there we stood witnessing the beautiful passing of our Dad as his soul ascended and his body gently lowered onto the bed, where he closed his eyes for the last time.
Dad taught us many things in life, but perhaps the greatest lesson of all was learned at his death. For that night, we did not witness death, but the beginning of new life. We thank God for the Blessed Assurance of new life through Jesus Christ and we pray that this foretaste of Glory Divine will be a source of strength as you journey through life.
Music provided exclusively for Pledge Stones, LLC by PJ Morgan.
