Easter in October

Tonia and I attended funerals for two friends on Monday morning. Both died from cancer-- one, colon cancer; the other, a brain tumor. One died after a short battle; the other had battled for 11 years (with an eight-year period of remission). Both died "early"-- at 51 and 38. One was single; the other was married with two young children. Both will be missed by friends and family.

Both were believers-- and thus, one of the pastors' comments, that it was Easter in October.

There were a handful of memorable lines.
-If wealth is measured as the quality of one's friends, he was a wealthy man.
-In line with John 5, her arrival in Heaven was met with "pick up your mat and walk".
-Her body changed a lot during the treatments, but it changed even more when she died-- in line with I Cor 15.
-The most powerful line in the story of Lazarus (Jn 11): not "Lazarus, come out" (since it only impacted one person), but "I am the resurrection and the life" (since it impacts all).
-Heaven: where his limitations will no longer be limitations.

One other thing: On the one with "limitations", Joe noted that he had continued to "grow"-- and noted further, that many adults fail to continue their growth, stagnating at some level in their "mature" years. May his growth encourage us to continue striving to grow as well.

May the families sense God's presence in a special way in the weeks, months and years to come-- as they continue to grieve their loss and as they celebrate the lives of the ones they've lost.