Precious in His Sight (Day 1 from Cleansing Thoughts)

        "TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A season, a time for every purpose under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NKJV). 

                    A time to be born . . . . . . . Wanda, December 17, 1929

                    A time to die . . . . . . . . . . . March 10, 2006

                    A time to mourn . . . . . . . . She is survived by two daughters, four grandchildren, and seven                                                                  great-grandchildren; four brothers and two sisters.

                    A time to weep . . . . . . . . . She was preceded in death by her parents, two husbands; two                                                                      sisters, and two brothers.

                    A time of peace . . . . . . . . . Wanda, seventy-six, peacefully went home to be with the Lords                                                                   at 6:06 p.m. Friday, surrounded by her family.

    In The Dream Releasers by Wayne Cordeiro, he writes, "The graveyard is the wealthiest place in all of creation. Beneath those rectangular pieces of sod lie countless unsung melodies and unwritten poems. The grassy plot's overflow with brilliant ideas that could have been transformed entire communities rehabilitated the lost and bore hope to the weary. Our burial grounds reek with unattained successes and unrealized dreams."

    When I first read this book, I marveled at his insight and began to notice how that rich ground was nourished by the If their dreams died with them of if a loved one would carry on in their place. It didn't take me long to realize that many who visited those grassy plots were in danger of losing their dreams as well, lost in the fog of grief that surrounded them.

    I am reminded that in Psalm 116 (NKJV), God says, "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints." So I began to ask myself why. What is precious about the death of a saint? In my research, I learned that the Hebrew word used for precious pertains to items that are rare or beloved. In the footnotes in the NIV Study Bible, it states that it is not in the sense of something highly valued but of that which is carefully watched over. Another translation gives us an even greater understanding, statine, "From Adona's point of view, the death of those faithful to him is costly" (CJB). He gave His only Son that we might have eternal life, and because of the rare gift He has given us, He watches over our lives with intense interest. We are His beloved. It is not our death that is precious to Him; it is our life! 

   Seven years ago, I began a job I would have never dreamed of doing, secretary for a cemetery. Yet over the course of time, I have come to realize God placed me here for His divine purpose. Many obituaries have crossed my desk, and one thing has never ceased to amaze me, the "dash" between the date of birth and death. This is the time that is precious in the sight of God.