Spring is finally here. It might not feel like it or even look like it, but it is here! I don't know where to begin. So much has happened since my last blog! My Uncle J passed after a long battle with heart disease and multiple bouts with cancer. I remember in 2020, he had us all on Zoom and he told us that he wanted to go into hospice. His cancer had returned, and he didn't want to go through chemo again. The family talked him into not giving up and he decided to go through treatment. For the next two years my uncle enjoyed his life. I found out he was even driving from Milwaukee to down south some weekends. He was living his best life and then the cancer came back. They gave him six months to live and my uncle was at peace with it. During those six months, his daughter caught Covid and was dying. While trying to go see her, he had another heart attack. His daughter died without him being able to be by her side.
I know my Uncle J's story is a lot to even imagine happening to one person and it breaks my heart to think of all he had to endure before he passed from this world to his eternal life. My Uncle has had to deal with the loss of 3 children, wife, two brothers, a niece he raised and the murder of his sister. I forgot to mention that his mother died giving birth to my mother. Yet, I remember a man that was calm, well dressed and always laughing. He wasn't perfect but who is? Towards the end of his life, he got right with God. That's all that matter. We had a quite a few heart to heart talks towards the end of his life. He had regrets but he still had hope that when he passed from this life, that he would be reunited with his loved ones. My Uncle was so ready to go to heaven that he asked the hospice nurse was she going to just give him a shot so he could go. He was ready!
I am glad my uncle is at peace now. He has a new body and he probably won the award for the "Most ready to go heaven" for March. I hurt more for his sisters and brothers that he left behind. He was so close to his older brother and I can tell his older brother has lost a piece of his heart. Ya'll death is so ugly and unfair! It leaves a trail of heartache, regrets and for some anger. I think about what it is going to be like when it is my turn to depart. Will I die in my sleep or will I die a violent death? Have you ever wondered how God is going to get you to heaven? I don't think there are going to be any more Enoch experiences. (Genesis 5:23, 24). God is not just going to take us up to heaven unless you are alive for the rapture. Our exit ticket is through death.
We don't know how our life is going to end. I am sure my uncle didn't know that he would experience so much death and suffering before he left this earth. My Uncle J, fought the good fight of faith. I pray that when it is my time, I will take a page from his book. I will look towards the end of my life with expectancy. I want to know I have poured out every drop of my gifts in this world and I am taking nothing to the grave.
My dear readers, I hope you have the courage my uncle did at the end of his life. He went laughing and joking. God just reached down and suddenly took him. Uncle J showed us all that when you are saved, death is nothing to fear. Until next time.
-Your Favorite Ruby Girl