A Day Without Sunshine
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:” II Timothy 4:7
Recently we’ve been reading or hearing about the financial trouble in which that old standby retailer Sears, Roebuck, & Co. has been enduring. Who would have ever thought that such a long standing, profitable department store would ever be this close to shutting its doors? There is likely no one over 40 who hasn’t shopped there. Many years ago you could order all the materials to build a house from the Sears catalog. There are also a bunch of us over 50 who worked there at one time or another. (My first job was at the local Sears.) It makes me sad that an American institution that provided goods and jobs for folks may eventually cease to exist. Sears has a special place in my heart; the reason I will reveal shortly.
The rock group Kansas had a song entitled “Dust in the Wind” several years ago. One of the lines in the song went like this: “Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky”. However, according to God’s Word, not even the earth and sky as we know them will last in eternity. In Revelation 21:1, we are told by the Apostle John as Jesus revealed the future to him that the first heaven and the first earth were passed away along with the sea, and there was a new heaven and a new earth. Thus nothing on this earth will last forever except for the souls of men and women, boys and girls. My pastor has said many times that everyone who has ever been born is still alive somewhere.
On this day, January 18, 2008, my precious husband passed from this walk of life into eternity after a long and devastating illness. Sometimes when I think about him, I think about Sears because that’s where we met in 1968. He worked in shipping and receiving, and I worked in the catalog department. (Some of you will remember the Sears catalog and especially the Christmas catalog with all the toys that we circled to let our parents know what we desired for Christmas). About a year and a half after I went to work there, we began dating and were married about four and a half months after our first date. My husband always used to tell folks that I was the best thing that he ever got out of the Sears catalog!
When he died a huge part of me died as well. Scripture tells us that when a man and woman are united in the holy state of matrimony they become one. For a truly committed couple, the death of one causes the surviving spouse to feel like he or she has lost part of himself or herself. I remember in 1971 when my uncle was accidently killed, the pastor of our church at the time met with my aunt in the hospital chapel, and he told her that the sky would never be as blue nor the sun shine as brightly. I now know exactly what he meant. To lose someone who is your soulmate, your confidante, and you best friend is like one of those dreary cloudy days that seems to hang over your head like a depressing heavy weight, a day without sunshine.
While I am saddened to lose such a good and loving husband, I know that, because he was a believer in Jesus Christ, he is now experiencing the joy, peace, health, and security of heaven without fear, suffering, or worry. The verse that I selected for today’s blog is the verse that I had engraved upon the plaque at my husband’s gravesite. I think it is a very fitting verse for him. He fought for truth and justice. He was one of those rare folks who did not have a prejudiced bone in his body. He worked hard and was a wonderful example of a follower of Christ, and a faithful witness of the gospel. I didn’t really “lose” him because I know where he is, and I will see him again, and that makes it all easier to bear.