The Last Day of My Life | A Mother's Prayer Request

Welcome to Real Life. Today’s blog is a belated Mother’s Day tribute. 

Decades before health consciousness went mainstream, my mother was a health food nut. She ate raw garlic to stave off colds. She snacked on sunflower seeds from bags meant to feed birds. She sucked honey out of actual honey combs. She popped vitamins like candy. Perhaps due to these habits, mom stayed relatively healthy throughout her life. 

However, in her late 70’s, her health began to deteriorate. She developed old age onset diabetes and peripheral artery disease. In October of 2005, she landed in the hospital for a month after by-pass operations in both legs. She dropped 50 lbs. She grew so weak; we feared she would not survive. 

Friend, mom, her sister Catherine

Yet in the midst of physical weakness, her faith remained strong. Following high school, my mother had been a nun for eight years. She left the convent before taking her final vows. She wanted a family. She considered the roles of wife and mother as holy as a life in the convent. Mom’s faith has remained an integral aspect of her being. 

As her strength waned that October, she sensed she might die. She began to give me directives such as, “Bury me with my Bible.” One of her requests left a lasting impression. 

“Pray for me, that the last day of my life will be the happiest day of my life.” 

I often think of her request. I still pray it for my mother (who is yet alive.) I pray it for myself. 

Mom and I on Mother's Day

At first glance, her words appear contradictory. We equate death with sadness, not happiness. Yet for a follower of Jesus Christ, her word choice makes perfect sense.

The apostle Paul wrote, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”[1] Paul (like mom) said this while facing death.[2] If he lived, Paul wanted to be Jesus’ hands and feet and voice in this world. But, he considered dying the better option. All his labor, suffering, and battles would cease. He’d be safe at home with his beloved Savior.

Like Paul, I want to be Jesus’ hands and feet and voice in my world. I love the abundant life I have in Jesus Christ. But, this body is not designed to last forever. One day, I will die. That same day, my Real Life with Christ will begin. That day - the day I see Jesus face to face - will be the happiest day of my life.

Dear Jesus, I long to be with you. Thank you for a hope that extends beyond this life.

Taking it further …

• Interested in more details on heaven? Read Heaven by Randy Alcorn.
  
• Heaven is for Real (by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent) is the compelling true story of a boy’s trip to heaven and back.
  
• Hell is for real, too. That’s why Jesus suffered and died on the cross. He paid the price for our sins to open the door to heaven and save us from hell. Have you received this gift? To reject him in this world is to live an eternity without God.
  
  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.[3]
  
• Believe, receive - it can all begin with a simple heartfelt prayer: Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite you to come into my heart and life. I want to live for you. Amen. 
  
  The exact words are not important. The attitude of your heart is important. To investigate this further call (888) Need-Him or visit www.needhim.org.
  
• Read C.S. Lewis’s allegory of hell, The Great Divorce.

[1] Phil. 1:21
[2] Paul was under house arrest, daily facing the possibility of execution because of his faith.
[3] John 3:16-18