The news hit me like a punch in the gut, completely unexpected, and it took my breath away. My head hung low in shock and the tears started drip, drip, dripping, onto the table.
A World Race squad mate had passed away in a car crash. We were supposed to meet face to face in less than two weeks. She was only 23.
After the shock wore off something beautiful happened. I saw the light and the wonder in the death of someone so young. And perfect peace flooded my heart.
Do you know how many people wait years and years to meet Jesus? They’ve been a follower of His for ninety years, and it’s not until they’ve lived a long life praising Jesus here on earth that they get called home.
Or how about this? A man spends his entire life denying the existence of God. But when he’s sick, old, and dying and as his life is fading away, something clicks. Before he takes his last breaths, he sees the love of Jesus in the people around Him and he decides to love Jesus back. Only the moments right before his passing were spent knowing the peace and love that only Jesus can offer.
There is the woman who denied Jesus, even upon her deathbed, and the woman who used to think she knew Jesus and spends many years teetering on the edge of believing and unbelief, never quite wanting to trust. She dies unexpectedly, still undecided.
Then there’s Anastasia. So young, and so in love and in awe of her Savior. She was as sure as a person could possibly be about who she was in Him. As silly as this may sound to some of you, I hope that you can have the peace that I have about such a beautiful woman meeting Jesus at such a young age.
No more pain.
No more suffering.
No more anxiousness or worry.
No more attacks from the enemy.
No more sickness.
No more sorrow.
No more shame.
No more crying.
No more mourning.
No more death.
I don’t know when Jesus came into her life, but I know one thing: She’s had peace in her from the moment she let Jesus into her heart. And each day she lived after that was spent praising His name and waiting for Him to call her home. Last night she was blessed with everlasting life. And she was only 23!
She will be missed by man because she touched so many hearts during her short stay on earth. As for me, my hope is in the Lord, and I too yearn for the day when I get to sit at Jesus’s feet and gaze upon His glory.
