| Revelation 22:5 – “There will never be night again.” |
This past Monday night, on Halloween, my wife and I were both going to the door to pass out candy. Everyone knows her. “Hello Mrs. Beall!” She works in the office at the elementary school across the street. Yes, she has a short commute to work. I am an unknown to the kids over there, and that is ok. She gets a lot of recognition from them on Halloween, and I am glad for her.
After we finished dinner, we decided to sit on our front porch swing and pass out candy from that vantage point instead of running to the door each time. We talked about what Sandy might be doing. Sandy is our neighbor 3 doors down. She has been for 32 years. She was one of the first we met on our move-in day. She probably played the harmonica for us. Maybe “Oh Susanna”. She has been like an adopted mother to us. We decided to turn off our porch light and go knock on her door, just to say hello. Our son, Jackson, wanted to go with us, so the three of us made the quick trip to her house.
I rang the bell. Their grown son, Cole, came to the door. He wanted to give us candy, but I told him we just wanted to say Hello. He went over to his dad, Jack. “Jeff and Mary Linda are here.” Jack joined him at the door. “Sandy is not here at the moment.” Then Michelle popped her head out. She is their daughter, Cole’s older sister. Me: “Cole, how old were you when we moved in?” Cole: “Eight.” Michelle said she was thirteen. I savored that moment. To think that I had been friends with this family for so long. We have done so much together. Several times at Christmas, we had come to their door and sang carols to them. Several times, Sandy joined us and we continued around the block singing to the whole neighborhood. For me, this is a special family. Sandy is a strong spiritual person, and she and I share deep conversations about life sometimes. As we visited with her family, Sandy came walking up to us. She was returning home.
The next day she texted me. “Thank you so much for stopping by. It meant so much.” Her husband, Jack, has not been feeling well, and I have been praying for him. I was glad to see him doing a little better. I know life is short, and I am reminded of it daily. My own body is not what it used to be, and I work hard to do what I can to keep it going strong. When I start grieving the passing of time, I remind myself that this world is not my home. It is a temporary place. My life here is brief. And there is a place beyond what I can see, where we will no longer shed tears or say goodbye. I don’t like saying goodbye. “See you later”, I can handle. So, I say that.
Father in heaven, thank You for providing meaning to all of this, and thank You for providing the Way to You, in Jesus’ name, Amen!
– Jeff Beall
