Breathing Celestial Air

"Just think of stepping on shore and finding it heaven..." So starts the poem. Those words have been adapted to a song frequently used in funerals. My friend, Jerry Johnson, and I had a deal ---- if I went first he would sing that for my service and if he left first, I would play It Is Well. I got to play before he got to sing.....much sadness.

This afternoon, those words came back to me as I heard my sweet friend, Kaye, left her physical pain behind and took in deep breaths of celestial air. I don't know what that means --- I don't know where heaven is, but I do know she is with God.....the Father God she loved so very much. Each time we talked, she smiled and quietly said, "We have a GOOD Father!"

Right now I don't want to picture her playing golf, running merrily, or even singing. I want to see her whole and sitting with the Father she so loved. My heart hurts right now because I won't see her again. My heart hurts because the last time I kissed her bald head, I somehow knew it was the last time.

But, I knew she knew I loved her. I knew she knew what a mark she left on my life. That is good.

Her husband is a man who will miss this precious one, but he will find comfort in the hope of eternity. We can create charts and memorize time lines, but when death comes, all that takes a back seat to the hope that our Hope is real. We have literally put our lives into the Hands we cannot see, but believe.

Goodbye, Kaye. Thank you for sharing your life with me and letting me get a better glimpse of this GOOD Father you loved so much. "See you in the morning, Kaye." There is a brighter day coming when all the saints in Christ will rise. You will soar past me singing the Ohio State fight song! Go Scarlet and Gray!