MORNING THOUGHTS ☕️: Being with Papa Tom when he passed away in the wee hours of October 1st was both painful and precious. Keith was holding his hand, and Granny and I were there talking to him and praying. As soon as we knew he was gone…the first reaction was sorrow.

BUT GOD.

Within seconds, I shifted from sorrow to awareness that AT THAT VERY MOMENT…he was WITH Jesus. In heaven. SEEING all the things that only, by faith, he’d believed in. The Bible says “absent from the body, present with the Lord”. (2 Cor 2:5)

I LOVE how the Passion Translation (TPT) puts it…that at death, these physical bodies are folded up like tents as we go to our God-built home that no human hands built. It says “we take delight in the thought of leaving our bodies behind to be at home with the Lord.”

As they took Papa Tom’s body out, Keith said he had such overwhelming awareness that it is, in fact, just a body. It houses WHO we are and our spirits…our essence if you will…our BEING that never stops BEING.

This morning, over coffee, Keith and I talked about this some more. He gave me the example of a cell phone with a SIM card in it. Without the SIM card (essence/spirit) the hardware will not work. But that SIM card still exists. The hardware is simply useless without it.

Fascinating to ponder.

This life. We are “just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14)

So thankful to know where Papa Tom vanished away to. He’s more alive now than you and me.

Anyway. That’s what’s on my mind this morning:). Love you.

E