Chapter 13: A Light On My Path

Page 24

“Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he

died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished.” Deut. 34:7

All of our married life, Jackie informed me she would die before the

age of 60. I never took her seriously until it actually was happening. It is my belief that God told her early on in our life how long she would live. I’m glad I did not believe her; it would have prolonged the suffering I have had to endure in my heart from her loss. During our life, I studied longevity and

in the fourteenth year of our marriage decided that I accepted Genesis 6:3.

Science is just catching up with the Bible in realizing that our bodies are designed to live to 120. The only family background that indicates it may be possible for me to live a long life is my paternal grandparents, who

both lived well into their nineties. We’ll see how long I last; I am certainly satisfied with my life at this point. It has been interesting and I consider life well worth the physical and emotional sufferings I have encountered. Like Jackie, I have no fear of shedding this earthly vessel. Like Jackie, my life is

in the hands of the Lord. My children and grandchildren can bear witness to how long God allowed me to stay on this earth.

My mother and father did not have an easy life. I noted by age 10 that

my mother suffered from polio first and then from multiple sclerosis (MS). She eventually died from MS while I was in the Navy. By the time she died, her body had degenerated severely to the point she didn’t even have control of her eye movement. She was wheelchair bound the last decade of her life

and she suffered greatly from a physical perspective. She once told me: “Ed, if there is a Hell — it is right here on planet earth.” If so, one could muse of the justice of recycling people until they get it right. Of course, that’s not the case since we read in Hebrews 9:27 that we only die once and then the

judgment comes. Still, the point that we suffer should not go unnoticed by Christians given what we are taught in the Bible.

“For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only

to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake.” Philip. 1:29