Just Passing Through

I had two fathers-in-law and love both of them. My step-father-in-law has passed away. He was truly a unique man. He was a quiet, gentle soul who loved Jesus with every fiber of his being. Just to see him and watch him, he would remind you of a true southern gentleman. His favorite saying was, “This world is not my own, I’m just passing through”. I found a denim shirt with that saying embroidered on the pocket and gave it to him for Christmas one year. He wore it till it was threadbare. He believed every word of it.

Recently, I had to say my last goodbyes to a cousin. Through poor health, an amputated toe surgery that left him paralyzed from the waist down, a series of other maladies that popped up along the way, and Covid with all of its ugliness, he succumbed to his ailments. 18 months he lay in a hospital bed never to put his feet on the ground or go home again. I can’t imagine having to deal with that. But, he did. I was able to visit him right after the lockdowns ended for hospitals. I had never actually outright asked someone if they knew Jesus and were they prepared for what came next. I asked my cousin these words. Now let me say we had not seen or talked to each other in more than a decade. He looked me straight in the eye and said, “me and the Big Guy have talked. I don’t deserve it but I’m ready for what comes next. No matter what happens I know where I'm going”. I had never felt such a relief and was able to stand there and pray with him for God’s will to be done. We both were crying. My prayer is that others in his family will be saved because of his example. He was “just passing through” and had left his mark amongst his friends and family. His light had shone. I still pray that those around him recognized the source of his light.

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

We are just passing through.