Hope

Sometimes hope sneaks up on us. In the midst of dark circumstances, we may get an unexpected glimpse of it.

I didn’t know Diane well, but I considered her a friend. I knew her through a Bible study we both attended. A couple years ago, in early December, she asked for prayer concerning an upcoming scan to determine the cause of abdominal pain. In the weeks leading up to Christmas other requests and updates followed: “Please pray for Diane. She was given the news she has ovarian cancer.” “Not able to eat much, very fatigued.” “The doctors have ruled out ovarian cancer.” “She doesn’t have a clear diagnosis.” “We don’t know exactly how to pray, but God knows exactly what she and her family need.” Then, two days after Christmas, “She was diagnosed today with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.” “Very aggressive cancer.” “Her cancer is not very receptive to chemo.” Finally, in early January, we learned she, “Passed away in the early hours of the morning.”

I, along with many others prayed for Diane to be healed. The physical healing we hoped to witness didn’t come. But during this time, Diane’s strong faith was evident. She knew that healing would come–if not in this life, then in the next. She lived in hope. She died in peace.

We were stunned that everything happened so quickly. Yet, we also saw it as God’s mercy that spared her a painful, ongoing battle.

The stories and comments at her funeral revealed much about the depth of her faith. The pastor stated that in preparing for the service, Diane had told him to talk about God’s grace more than about her life. But he said that her life was so wrapped up in Jesus, that the two were inseparable. Jesus shined through her life as she lived it out day by day. He said in all of his years of ministry, he had never seen anyone display as much peace as she did. Even in the ER, she said she “hesitated to call her pain a ‘10′, but she felt like her insides were exploding, so it was probably a ‘10′.” When she was given the ‘bad news’ of her condition, she said it was ‘good news’ for her.

As the stories came out, revealing her personality and her deep love for the Lord, I found myself wishing I had known her better, and regretting that I didn’t take better advantage of the opportunity I had to do that. In that moment, the Lord whispered. I clearly heard in my spirit, “You will.”

We were made for relationship. We have all of eternity to enjoy those relationships that are just too short on earth. In heaven, our friendships will have the opportunity to fully develop in a way that isn’t possible in the here and now. We have glimpses now of how rewarding and rich it is to interact with others. God has shown us that His highest intention for us is relationship. He wants us to know Him and to love Him with all our heart, and to love the people He puts around us. Throughout eternity, we will be able to completely learn and understand what that means. How exciting! What hope He gives!

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV

 

What do you think? I would love to know. Please leave a comment below.

Blessings,
Phyllis

Image by ShonEjai from Pixabay

Copyright 2023 Phyllis L. Farringer