Like my husband, the holidays bring on extra thoughts of Mitch for me. I still miss him every day, with each breath I take, but during the holidays, when all of the family is together his absence is much more apparent. I kept my tears to myself pretty well until I stood over Mitch’s headstone on Christmas day. As usual, I traced the outline of his face embossed on the plate, his lips and his hands wishing I could feel him for real and the tears just came flowing. Oh how I miss him! My selfish nature wants him back…even knowing he is SO much better off…He IS with Christ in heaven! But it’s those times when the pain in my heart becomes unbearable I want him back with me so I will feel better.
During a wonderful Christmas Eve service at my Dad’s church this past week a phrase of the Christmas staple, Away in a Manger, got me to thinking again about heaven. The last phrase of the song goes: “Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care. And take us to heaven to live with you there.” This version was worded a bit differently and read: “And FIT us for heaven to live with you there.”
Many of you know that I have a background (BS) in fitness, I know how to be fit…not that I always make the choices to do so, but I do know what it involves. It involves eating right and breaking a good sweat every now and then to increase your overall strength and endurance. However, I do not think this is the kind of FIT the song was speaking of. This is talking about our spiritual fitness. I am sure we can all list many ways to work on our spiritual fitness, reading the bible, praying and spending time with God. Did you know that Christ also uses our trials/suffering to makes us stronger and to prepare us for our eternal life with Christ? Just as a good physical workout can make us sweat and feel uncomfortable in order to achieve our goal…so can a good spiritual workout.
James 1:2-4
“Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.”
Romans 5:3-4
“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us-they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation.”
2Cor. 4:17-18
“For our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.”
I remember a time when I was pregnant with Mitchell. I had been asked to be a bridesmaid in a girlfriends wedding, we ordered my dress about 5 sizes too big not knowing what I would need by the time of the wedding. I took it in to be altered about a month before the wedding the tailor fitted it to me leaving a little “wiggle” room. I went in for my final fitting 3 days before I had to leave for the wedding…you guessed it, the dress did not fit! I…or Mitchell had grown much more than we had anticipated. Luckily the tailor was able to take it out to make room for my growing belly. In life, Christ is our tailor; He is continually fitting us and molding us. Life’s trails are the treadmill or dumbbells that Christ uses to make us “fit” for eternity with Him.
When I put clean sheets on our guest bed, which would be Mitch’s bed, I always think of how he loved to be home from the hospital and wanted his favorite sheets on his bed to crawl into after the hospital stay. Towards the end when he was really sick I had gone home for a night to be with Meredith. We had purchased new bedding for each of the kids because we were going to be moving to Tulsa (long story). I had kept it all packaged up until our move, this particular night I opened up Mitch’s new bedding and put it on his bed. In my mind I was determined that he WAS coming home to his bed...But just as I was preparing our home for Mitchell’s homecoming, Christ was also preparing for Mitch’s heavenly homecoming…and I am sure His linens had a much higher thread count…
Mitch was fit for heaven at the young age of 10 years and 4 months. When we whispered into his ear…it’s time for you to go be with Jesus, he nodded his head “yes.”
As we approach this New Year I hope you will be encouraged to work on your “fitness” program for eternity being reminded that those times when our faith is being tempted are opportunities to grow and become “fit” for dwelling with our Heavenly Father.
Posted on
Sun, January 1, 2012
by Tracy Whitaker