Rejoicing the Day After Mothers' Day

Our church was blessed and privileged to have the Singletarys visiting, speaking and preaching this last weekend.

Their visit reminded me of a story told by Bro. Singletary a couple of years ago which became a treasured memory in the last four years.

Bro. Singletary:

"We were heading to the country of Chile in a few days to visit a missionary friend there.  Just before we left, a man whom we knew asked a favor of us.  He asked if we would visit a grave site while we were in the country.  

More than twenty-five years before, he and his wife had been missionaries in Chile.  His wife was about to have their baby when she became sick with a fever.  The child was born and lived just a few days.  His wife, also, lived only a short time after the birth and passed away.  The missionary had been sick with the fever as well.  He made a simple casket out of pine for his wife and one for the child, but he was so ill that he could not attend their small funeral.  

The missionary had never seen his wife's gravesite, and he wished that I would visit the place and take a picture to bring back for him.

It was not a pleasant task, and I almost regretted agreeing to take the picture.

A few days into our visit in Chile, we found a young boy to act as a guide and take us up to the grave site.  We had to walk along a little, overgrown path through something of a jungle to get there.

When we finally reached the cemetery, we could see that there were a few large, beautifully decorated grave stones.  Scattered around them, there were some smaller head stones with inscriptions on them.  Then, our guide brought us over to a corner of the field where he said the "poor" were buried.  

Here, the graves were stacked one on top of the other with nothing but a small stone placed in front of each one to note who was buried there.  We searched for a few minutes until we found the stone with the right name on the plate.

In my heart, I wondered at this small crypt that held what was left of one who had been loved.  How sad that it was so small and that noone had been there to care for the final resting place of this dear lady.  In twenty-five years, not a single person had brought flowers or removed the weeds around this stone. The boy had a card and he used it to wipe away the cobwebs and branches that had grown over the nameplate.  Under the woman's name a few words were written in Spanish which we could not read.

The boy translated for us, 'Absent from the body, present with the Lord.'

I thought for a moment, and then I realized I had been very wrong.  If her husband had been there to see her buried...  If her family had come every single day for the last twenty-five years to lay flowers on her grave and care for the site...  All of this would not have made one bit of difference to her at all.

She was not there!  She was in Heaven, and she was infinitely better off than any place on earth, much less a gravesite.  She was with her Lord."

One of the greatest joys I have received in the last four years is the practical realization that I can and must live my life looking Heavenward.  What a blessing to live in the light of a loving Savior and with the knowledge that I will see my Mom again...in Heaven.

While riding in the car together, my mom and I often listened to this song over and over and over.  I got to where I could rewind the cassette to the exact spot where the song began.  Divine Foresite, no doubt.

"Someday Heaven's gates will swing open.

Redeemed of all ages shall see

The Throne sending bright rays of glory

On a mansion, that's built for me,

The Tree of Life there by the Crystal River,

And Mother who was saved by God's Grace.

With all loved ones gone on before us, 

Won't Heaven be a glad happy place?

Heaven (happy home above)

Heaven (land of peace and love)

Oh, it makes me feel like traveling on

Heaven (supernal), Heaven (eternal)

I'm so glad it's real."