Absent from the Body, Present with the Lord

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.  For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.  I Thessalonians 4:13-14

It's true that we do not grieve as others who have no hope. . .but we still grieve the loss of my brother Doug, who passed from this life into the presence of our Lord Jesus on Friday, December 9th.  What a comfort to know that, because our Lord triumphed over death when he rose from the dead, one day the dead in Christ will also be raised unto eternal life in Heaven.  Doug will be among them.

Though we know that all of life is lived by the grace of God, there are times when His gifts of grace are so much more "real" in the sense that you see those gifts unfold before your eyes.  Such was the case over the last week in relation to Doug's home-going.  Other family members, I'm sure, could compile their own list, but I count the following as gracious gifts from God:

• Doug took a turn for the worse on the same day that we were already headed to Kansas for Tyler's Air Force commissioning ceremony.  Another trip to Kansas later on was not required of us.
• We didn't have to pay for an unused motel reservation when our plans changed last Thursday night, because Joel mistakenly made the reservation for the following night.
• The Lord prolonged Doug's life just long enough so we could see him one more time and express our love.  We arrived at the hospice care facility at 1:15 a.m. on December 9th, and Doug passed forty-five minutes later.
• Joel and I had the privilege of reading scripture to Doug from John 14, Revelation 21, and I Corinthians 15.  Although Doug could not speak to us, there was slight acknowledgement of our presence.  
• Having the company of Mom, Jayne, Bruce, Ashlea, and Joel, as we all said our goodbyes to Doug.
• At 2:00 a.m. hearing Ashlea sing "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" to Doug as he passed into the arms of his Savior. 
• Tyler was able to change the date of his final exam, so he could attend the funeral service.
• The expressions of love and sympathy to the family from near and far. 
• The funeral service in our "home church", about which I plan to write as a separate blog post.  I couldn't be more pleased.  
• The peaceful calm that was present at the cemetery after a cold blustery morning.