February 9th to most people is just another day. To me and my family, it is a day marked with grief. On this day, 5 years ago, my baby sister, Rachel took her last breath here on this earth. She was beautiful, funny, intelligent and stubborn. She loved her husband, her family, her friends, her pets, shopping, coffee, and most importantly her Lord. She was kind and compassionate, yet strong and outspoken. She was my sister, my friend and I loved her dearly. Almost exactly a year before her death, Rachel found out that she had a rare form of lung cancer. She didn’t smoke and was only 33, yet the lining of her lung had been overtaken by this horrible disease. Her’s was not to be an easy road. She suffered greatly, especially at the end. Even though she was in a lot of pain and stuck in the hospital, Rach didn’t complain. In fact, we have pictures of her giving the nurses back massages, braiding their hair, painting their nails, and whatever else she was capable of doing. She just wanted to give back to them for helping her. This is who we miss. This is why we grieve.
BUT…We do not grieve as those who have no hope. Rachel accepted Christ into her life, and because of God’s wonderful gift of salvation, we know that my sister is in Heaven. Those of us who have a personal relationship with God, know that we will see her again one day. She is not lost to us, she is not gone. Rach is alive and well. She has perfect peace and is looking forward to when we will join her in our eternal home. Because I know my sister, I know that she would want you to know ,that you also can have hope. (Hope in your struggles, hope through your pain, and hope when you are facing death) God loves you and He sent His son, Jesus to make a way for you to have a personal relationship with Him. Jesus gave His life for yours, so that you could have hope, so that you could have peace, so that you could know without a doubt where you will spend eternity. I know that my sis (as do I) would implore you to take a look at your life and your relationship with God. Make sure that you know without a doubt that Jesus is your Savior and Lord. Her desire was that others saw Jesus through her suffering, and that you would come to love God (as she did) through her death.
Do I miss her? Absolutely! Every Day! Do I still grieve? Of course. But I also have great joy, and I can smile through my tears because I have Hope.
I Peter 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,
Trusting Through Brokenness 