The Weekly Encourager – November 26, 2014 – Thankful Testimony

On the eve of Thanksgiving, I'd like to share the encouraging testimony of my friend Wendy Wang, whose mother died sharing her joyful faith in God. 

Wendy writes, “I have joined the ranks of those who have lost both parents. My mother passed away last Tuesday. There are so many things to thank God for! One, that my faith plus her suffering over the years let me see her death as a release and a success: She made it! She finished the race! Also, that every family member was present to say goodbye. Everyone gathered in her hospital room, said their love and thanks for specific contributions she had made to their lives, and received the same from her. My children...will always have the memory of how joy transformed her expression when she saw them walk into the room.

 She also saw a "huge bright yellow light" two days before her death, when the hospital summoned me to her side. Leaving the light was so painful that she could tell me without hesitation that the next time, she wanted to leave her body behind instead.

 The morning she passed, she said, "I want to go to heaven faster." She was in hospice care and didn't feel pain.

 In her last month, she told both my cousin and me that this was the happiest time of her life. Despite her physical condition, she knew great joy because giving up the things of this life freed her to spend more time with the Lord. He arranged two born-again Christians to be her caregivers. Two others also loved to talk about Jesus and read scripture to her. Two weeks before her death, while thinking about how God so loved us that he sent his son, she felt an overwhelming presence of love and a sense of thousands upon thousands worshipping Jesus. She even told hospital staff, "Isn't it amazing that God loved us so much that he sent us his son?"

 Her funeral was a celebration of life! I gave the eulogy with joy. I am sad for my loss, but delighted for her! She loved me and taught me about God: I thank him for his provision! Love changes people. Nothing will replace the mother-daughter relationship, but new relationships with spiritual mothers and friends will grow instead, like a fertile garden where the loss of a big old tree results in the strengthening and new growth of other plants.

 God is good! I will pray for you to keep your mind set on things above, Jesus who knows us and is enough for us.”

What a tremendous example of God's faithfulness to His child, and of a family's faithfulness to gather and thank the dying relative for what she meant to them. How wonderful that words of appreciation were given while the dear lady was still able to hear them!

If we have loved ones who knew Jesus while alive here, they are now alive There! We can rejoice this Thanksgiving, knowing that they are celebrating a far grander feast in Heaven. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift of eternal life!

Happy Thanksgiving!

God is faithful,
j

Testimony of Wendy Wang used with permission, November 2014.