Discussions We All Hate

We don't want to think about it, much less talk about it, but death is something every Soldier and wife must talk about before the Soldier deploys. It's difficult, it hurts, it stings, it tears at the very core of your heart as you look into the eyes of the one you love and have to talk about the possibility of death - but it's important.

My husband and I have been having these conversations off and on some lately. Off and on because it's hard to do in one sitting. It's not easy, and it makes me want to vomit when I think about it, but I know it has to be discussed and certain things have to be set in place. When he tells me he loves me and doesn't want me to have to think about it later, if it were to happen, I can't argue with that. But, I do cry (which makes it even harder for him to discuss).

To get to the point - this morning I was wide awake at 5 a.m. (not by choice because it's Saturday, but because I'm used to it) and, as I was reading my bible, I came across this (it's long so prepare to stay engaged and read it all):

1 Corinthians 15: 42-55: So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

All of it spoke to my heart. All of it moved me to tears. All of it made me think about the man God created for me. All of it made me so grateful that he has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. All of it made me rejoice that we don't have to worry about death. Christ gives us VICTORY over death! I love the verse that says, "we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed..." And I love the final verse that helped me to find peace with the very thing I feared the most. I put it in bold letters above, but I want us to read it again - Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

The Lord has called my husband to something that requires that he give up EVERYTHING and go to the place God has called him to go. The Lord is asking him daily to give himself fully to the work of the Lord, and His Word tells us that it is NOT in vain. He's asking that of me, too, and of all who believe in Him. We must stand firm and let NOTHING move us! We MUST give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord, and, if in that, we lose our life (physically) then we will know what it is to stand in the presence of Almighty God!

We will continue to have these tough conversations, but the sting has lessened by the power of God's Word and the promises therein.

Thank you for your Word, God. Thank you for your promises. Thank you that because of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made we can live in victory today and forevermore.