TOGETHER IN HIS PRESENCE

by | Jun 23, 2022 | Prophetic | 0 comments

Yesterday, Jan and I did something we have wanted to do for a long time.  We ordered the headstone for our gravesite wanting to spare our kids the hassle of that process when the time comes. In the historic pioneer cemetery where we will be buried are some of my relatives who were on the first wagon train to cross our valley, something I did not know and only discovered when the Lord sent us here 23 years ago. Soon after arriving in the valley and finding my historical connection with the area, we decided to buy our gravesites.

Earlier in the day before visiting the company that would build our headstone, I walked through our 162-year-old cemetery and noticed all the headstones faced in one direction. It was like a visual metaphor for life. We all will face death, but how we face it will be determined by who or what we gave our lives to in our short time on earth.

As the man at the monument company took our order, I told him we wanted a single line of inscription on the headstone to read “together in His presence” with the “H” in the word “His” to be the only capitalized word in the sentence. Jan and I will always be in the Lord’s presence no matter which of us goes first or who remains.

We also asked for an emblem of the Cross to be engraved on our headstone between our names. Just as the Cross of Jesus was empty, we want those who would someday pass by our grave to see a symbol of an empty cross reminding them that the essence of who we are is no longer on this earth, but resurrected into the presence of the One who redeemed us and gave us a good life together. It is a togetherness that can never be broken by physical death, our failures, or any other thing.

In the next couple of months, our headstone will be placed on our gravesite. In the future when I walk by our headstone it will be a poignant reminder of the passing vapor of this life and the power of God’s inseparable love. Our headstone will not be an image of fear or loss but of gratefulness and hope.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8: 38-39).

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