Ever So Beautiful

“Ever So Beautiful”

Those were the last words Ms. Betty spoke to me just before leaving this earth. Ms. Betty was 84 years old and had been recently diagnosed with stage four lung cancer that had spread throughout her body. When one receives this kind of news, it is devastating and overwhelming. And although Ms. Betty had lived a full life of many years, eighty-four can seem too young to die.
I have the honor of working with the elderly. And often my job allows me to be with them just before their passing. When I was much younger in both my years and my faith, I used to fear being around someone who was dying. I first experienced this with my grandmother. I remember visiting her while passing through Dallas on a business trip. My mom asked me to check on her because my grandmother had become very ill. When I arrived, my grandmother was bed-ridden with a nurse by her side twenty-four hours a day. I remember being so fearful of sitting beside her. What if she died while I was there? As I quietly said my good-byes, I must confess feeling relieved as I walked out the door.
Looking back, I never knew how special that moment could have been had I only known God and His Word. A pastor once described his experience of being with the dying as standing on Holy ground. I will never forget the words from His sermon, “This is the closest you’ll ever get to the physical presence of Christ while here on earth.”

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me
so that you also may be where I am.”
John 14:1-3

Twenty years later with a deeper understanding of God, I can attest the words of that pastor were true. The Bible tells us Jesus goes before His children to prepare a place for them. And we also know Jesus comes back for each of us so that we can be where He is.
While I was praying with Ms. Betty, she listened contently and seemed at peace despite the circumstances surrounding her. For a moment it felt like we were in another world, separated from cancer and death. At one point, she looked over my shoulder and I will never forget the expression on her face. Ms. Betty’s face reflected the image of peace and tranquility. I knew at that moment God had revealed something, filling her with such comfort in the midst of her final moments.
I quietly asked, “What are looking at Ms. Betty?
She responded, “Jesus.”
I was so deeply moved by that one word, I could barely speak. I was afraid to turn around because I didn’t want His presence to leave her sight. So holding back my tears, I asked, “Is He as beautiful as we think He is?”
She looked at me with eyes filled with compassion and softly said, “Ever so beautiful.”
May those who profess their faith in Jesus Christ begin today by embracing both life and death as events that lead us to a place already prepared for our homecoming. And may we all be comforted knowing that we never leave this earth alone. Our “ever so beautiful” Savior comes for each one of us so that we can be where He is. Death doesn’t exist for the Christian believer. It’s simply the passageway God uses to bring us home to His Heavenly Kingdom.