And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

~Revelation 21:3-4 ESV

Life’s defining moments can come when we least expect it.  

The Death

These moments can change us and those around us. The seconds seemed to stop as we anticipated what would happen next. For me, one of those moments occurred on February 7, 1993. My father had several health issues: diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, which led to bypass surgery in 1991. Within that period, our family had several scares as paramedics rushed Dad to the hospital. Each time, we feared the worst, but each time, we found Dad sitting on the bed in the emergency room with a big smile on his face. After several times of rushing Dad to the hospital, I got complacent. I was sure he would be okay.

But February 7, 1993, was the day I experienced a life-defining moment. My sister called at 1:30 a.m. She was at the hospital, and Dad was in the emergency room, again. I told her I was coming, but unfortunately, I drifted back to sleep. She called again. I thought I would find Dad sitting on his bed and smiling as he always had. However, as I entered the emergency department, my sister informed me Dad had just passed away. I was numb. The shock of seeing Dad’s lifeless body made me know this was real. After staying with Mom and my sister for a while, I returned home.

As I walked up the stairs to my children’s bedroom, I looked at their peaceful expressions as they slept. Christa was six years old and John three when their grandfather died. I tasted salt from the tears trailing down my cheeks. I wanted to stop time and spare them the news about their papa but instead composed myself and woke my sleeping angels. Holding them tightly, I shared the news and watched them cry. Soon, their crying turned into soft sobbing. As their father, I found myself wishing I could fix this for them . . . save them from the heartbreak . . . but I could not. The only way we got through this was to lean on our heavenly Father for comfort. Only He could ease this heartbreak.

The Hope

God knows about our life-defining moments and understands. The following scriptures assure us of that.   

• “Jesus wept” (John 11:35 ESV). Jesus felt the pain and sorrow then, and He feels our emotions now.
• “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8 ESV).  Jesus will never change the way He feels about us. He is constant, immovable, and steadfast. He is the same Lord of creation He has been and always will be.
• “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away’” (Revelation 21:3-4 ESV). Jesus is preparing a home for us now, and one day we will be with Him forever. Earth is temporary for all of us, and our vessels of flesh will pass away. But as believers, we will be with Jesus forever. In eternity, we will see Him through unveiled eyes. Dad now sees the Lord of Glory face-to-face. One day, our family will have the privilege of joining Dad, and we will see Jesus, too, in His majesty and splendor.

Share a life-defining moment.

Lord Jesus, no matter what I go through, I know You are with me.  I ask You to direct me with Your Holy Spirit as I walk by faith and not by sight. In my life-defining moments, I choose to receive Your perfect peace. I look forward to Your coming when the sadness of this world will be no more. Amen.

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2020: Life’s Defining Moments: Ed Chappelle: All Rights Reserved