Soon as I get home…

On Saturday, November 3rd, my dear line sister went on to be with the Lord. And to be very honest, today, Monday, November 5th, I still do not believe it to be true. My mind truly thinks that I will physically see my beloved sister show up at church on Sunday or show up to bible study next Monday evening. But the reality is, she is now resting with our Father, and I will see her again, but not until I get to the other side.

Ms. Geri’s death took our entire church, sorority chapter, and county by surprise. She hadn’t been sick and she had literally been cutting up with our sorority sisters the night before. But then she didn’t wake up on Saturday morning and our hearts have not been the same since. She was a young 78-year old woman who loved God and everyone. She served with no reservation or hesitation and you always felt her love in all that she did.

Now don’t get me wrong, Ms. Geri was feisty at times. At 78 years old, she had earned the right to give us a little spice with everything she said. Talking to her was like eating a big bowl of hearty chili…and then getting that little red pepper kick at the end. Her words soothed and comforted you, but they also made you laugh because she was so honest.

I will miss my friend; Lord knows, I will miss my sister.

As we sat in 8am worship service yesterday, the entire church mourned the loss of a woman who served diligently on the Culinary and Dance ministries. I don’t remember much from that service except that we cried from the call to worship until the benediction; as soon as one person stopped crying, two more would begin. If this is any indication of the life Ms. Geri lived, I’m sure that for every tear we shed over our loss, heaven rang out a shout of praise for their gain.

By the time we got to 11am service, I was personally all cried out. My head was hurting, my eyelids were a bit swollen, and my body could no longer take the pain that came from crying with my whole heart. I sought God and asked for His comforting Spirit…and He showed up. Don’t miss understand me, my pain is still very real, but I know God is Sovereign and He is able to heal my broken heart. During this second church service, I was actually able to hear the songs that the phenomenal praise team was singing to our Abba. Praise and Worship was amazing- offering many songs that musically expressed the joy that our hearts were feeling, behind the tint of our bereavement. Of all the songs that were sung, one stands out to me… here are the lyrics:

I shall wear a crown
I shall wear a crown
When it’s all over
When it’s all over
I shall wear a crown
I shall wear a crown
When it’s all over
When it’s all over
I’m going to put on my robe, tell the story, how I made it over
I’m going to put on my robe, tell the story, how I made it over
I’m going to put on my robe, tell the story, how I made it over
Soon as I get home
Soon as I get home

I shall see His face
I shall see His face
When it’s all over
When it’s all over
I shall see His face
I shall see His face
When it’s all over
When it’s all over
I’m going to put on my robe, tell the story, how I made it over
I’m going to put on my robe, tell the story, how I made it over
I’m going to put on my robe, tell the story, how I made it over
Soon as I get home
Soon as I get home

Can you picture that?

After enduring all the pain that this world had to offer us…
After crawling through the muck and miry clay of life….
We shall be reunited with our King, given a crown, see His face, and wear a new robe of glory….
As soon as we get home.

As our praise team sang those words, I closed my eyes and pictured Ms. Geri standing before God. Bowing down in His presence and receiving her crown and robe. God extended His hand to help her up and said, “well done, my good and faithful servant” and she accepted His hand and rose to her feet. The glow on her face could not be hidden as she walked joyfully with our Abba. She was walking arm-in-arm with Him and telling Him everything that He already knew, but because He is a loving God, He listened to her side of the story.

She was so happy.
No, not happy; she was joyful.
She was at peace.
She was home.

Beloved, I don’t know about you, but I am living every day of my life just to hear God say two words to me: WELL DONE. My 32 years, 2 months, and 2 days on this earth so far have been filled with pain and many earthly disappointments. Yes, there has been much good over the years, but to be honest, sometimes the pain was so great that I attempted to send myself to my heavenly home sooner than necessary.

I no longer try to rush God in that sense. I have come to realize that my time here on earth is for a specific reason and God has work that He explicitly needs me, Michelle Early, to complete. His words in Jeremiah chapter 29 have become my heart’s and mind’s reality- God really does have a plan for my entire life…

… and guess what, He has a plan for you, too!

On this side, we will never understand why death comes so randomly and frequently. We tend to say that the “good die young”, while inferring that the evil live long. Truth is, the prepared go to be with God when He is ready for them. How we interpret how a person lived their life has no bearing on when God will call them home. We must just continue to live everyday in a way that is pleasing to God, knowing that one day, we will see His face.

The pain of Ms. Geri’s death is still very real in my heart and mind. Yet as I swayed to the melodic tunes of the praise team yesterday, watching Ms. Geri with the Lord, I realized that, like her, the day would come when all of my ashes would be traded for beauty, the pain would be explained, and I would finally understand God’s reason for it all…

…soon as I get home.

Be blessed.