BE THERE

It is their family motto - Be there.

Helpless to change their circumstances,
Vigilant they sat at his bedside.
The earthly tent, that was his body,
Lay tormented, weak, and torn, only a shadow of himself.
The battle for his physical body would soon be lost,
And while a sadness lingers in the room,
There is joy, for his mortality is swallowed up by LIFE.
Through tests, treatments and procedures they lived by faith, not by sight.
He was renewed day by day inwardly though outwardly he was wasting away.
A testament of true faith and eternal perspective.
The Newsboys' lyrics play in my head "No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me"
There was no fear,
None.
And as their cancer-theme song played in the background (Mighty to Save, Michael W. Smith),
I praised God, the provider and sustainer of life for His faithfulness.
I was blessed in the opportunity to serve this family,
And honored to stand as a witness to the hope and joy that lies in death, because of Christ, even when it seems untimely.
Connor wasn't healed while on this earth, but he is whole now.
A victor in death, because he believed in the conqueror of the grave.
And so Connor will Be there.
I look forward to meeting him there someday.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.