When death is swallowed up

It’s amazing how time flies. 

It was about this time last year, that I got word from my mother and sister that my dad wasn’t doing so well.  He had been in the hospital for a while, and they weren’t sure how much longer he would live.

I had intended to visit home in May of this year, but with the news I received, my family went back to Hawaii for an early visit.  I’m very glad I did.  While I was there, my father passed away.

For many, death is a painful thing.  And to be honest, standing vigil over my dad in his last days was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. 

During that time, I talked a lot with my dad never knowing how much he really was hearing. 

I missed his final breath by about 5 hours.  My sister called us at about 5:30 a.m. or so to let us know he had passed on.

Death is painful.  But there will come a day when death itself will die. 

In this chapter, Isaiah talks about the return of our Lord.  On that day, Isaiah says,

He will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. 

The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.  The Lord has spoken.  (Isaiah 25:7-8)

As he does, all his people will praise him, singing,

Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.  (9)

When my dad died, he had diabetes, he was completely blind, he had pneumonia, and he had a sore that never quite healed on his leg.

But now, all of that is gone.  All the sorrow he experienced, all the pain, has been washed away in victory.  And now, he is singing the song of salvation probably as loudly as anyone else.  Each day, he feasts at our Lord’s table. 

I can’t wait until I see him again.

There’s a song I really love, and whenever I sing it, I think of my dad and the hope that we have. 

May you too find the hope we have in Christ.

There are burdens that I carry every day
Sometimes it makes me want to cry
Hopeless feelings harbored deep inside my heart
And I find it hard to hold my head up high

In the middle of the darkness in my life
I find a strength to carry on
I am holding to a promise Jesus made
And I know it won’t be long ’til we’ll be gone

In a while we’ll be gone
And we won’t have to cry anymore.
All our sorrows left behind

And that’s the day that I am waiting for
And that’s the day that I am longing for
And that’s the day I’m looking for
— Amy Grant