Mary, my friend Alan´s mother (64), was buried yesterday.  It was a well prepared funeral where nothing went wrong, and her three children had arranged it all with heartfelt contributions full of relevant Bible words in the local catholic church. Three of her little grandchildren stepped forward to sing beautifully in honor of their dear grandmother.

I was among goodhearted people who lovingly helped me out because of my physical handicap.  That warmed my old heart.  I gave my simple testimony to some.  I also talked to a young man, the leader of a catholic youth organization.  “I asked him, Do you also own a Bible?”

He pointed at an aunt to tell me that she had once given one to him.  “Do you read in it?”  He was honest enough to say, “Never!” – “So you are a catholic with no relationship to God´s word at all?”  That he confirmed, and I finally gave him the little “heart book” full of good Bible words and read for him John 3:16.  He thought he had already heard that word.

But there were also others to talk to.  Before leaving them I shared with a group some memories from Mary´s life and our friendship with her.  I told them she called Denmark “the land with milk and honey”, as her own background was Sri Lanka with its bloody civil wars.

I said to “my” group, “At this very moment , Mary is enjoying a heavenly bliss with milk and honey full of “every spiritual blessing in Christ”  (Eph. 1:3).  And I said to them, “I want you to know what happens to a believer after death.  My dear grandfather taught me that from 2 Cor. 5:8 saying they are “absent from the body and at home with the Lord.”  (2 Cor. 5:8).  I think those friends will from now on remember that.

I was reminded afresh that I´m too very “close”. A true child of God is already now in the eternity while we still on earth hear the clock ticking.

May 23, 2021 - jn