Living in the Last Hour

Tis the Season…

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Irm

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From November 27, 2014 through December 25, 2014, most people will gather to give thanks for a most wonderful year, for their many blessing. Friends and family will gather together to give thanks, plan for the Christmas holiday, collect Christmas lists from the children, put up Christmas decorations, and do lots of shopping for gifts and the perfect Christmas tree. Crowds galore will fill stores across the country until the very last-minute. What a wonderful and joyous season this can be. It’s exciting just thinking about it.

Unfortunately, some people will also gather to say goodbye to loved ones. It’s a sad time whenever it happens, but for some reason it’s just feels a tad more bitter when it happens around this time of year.

On the day most of us were eating our turkey dinner, people were fighting for their life. One of those was the daughter of a dear friend.  She was admitted to the hospital on Thanksgiving Day and she went to be with the Lord on November 30, 2014. She was a young woman, single and she lived to praise the Lord. She had many dreams, but the Lord called her home and that’s every believer’s ultimate dream, to be present with the Lord. Still, it difficult to understand why the Lord calls some home, so young.IMG_0886

I always wonder why the Lord calls people home at such a young age. Young people full of hopes and dreams, some married, some single, some barely out of the womb. This young woman lost her battle to cancer. In the end it was brain lesions that ended her life. She was in extreme pain, but she was a brave soul to the very end. She was a happy soul, full of life and enjoyed it to the end.

I am at a loss for words. I have not lost a child, so I can’t imagine the pain. I talked to a friend who lost her son at a young age in October of 1995. She was devastated at the loss, and who could blame her. It was one of those Ferguson incidents that never made it to the evening news.

Her advice was to just tell them “I will be praying for you.” There is nothing I can say that will ease their pain. And there isn’t. Empty platitudes are just that when you experience such a loss.

Well, if the death of this young woman was not enough, my daughter who had been sick for a few weeks, got violently ill over the weekend. She managed to get past it at home, but Monday, she went to see the doctor about her illness, well as it turns out the doctor told her she wanted to admit her to the hospital right away. Apparently, her illness that had yet to clear after weeks of antibiotics may have developed into viral meningitis. The violent illness this past weekend was symptomatic of viral meningitis. She has been struggling with health issues for about a year and a half, so her getting sick is always of concern.

She calls me from the doctor’s office and tells me “Mom don’t freak out…” As if I am not going to freak out. Truly, I can’t. I have to trust in God. I have to trust that this too shall pass, that any work He starts He sees to completion. I am also taking care of my grandson. He is 20 months and a handful…freaking out doesn’t help.

So, please prayer warriors will you pray for my daughter, Kate who is in the hospital now, and pray for my friends Jim and Marlene, who sent their oldest daughter home to be with the Lord. Sometimes that all we can do is pray and ask God for His favor. Thank you.

Be Blessed.

One response to “Tis the Season…”

  1. Levi Thetford Avatar
    Levi Thetford

    I will pray for your daughter and friends. As you stated, sometimes that’s all a person can do and say but God will be near to you!!!

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Hello,

I’m Irma

Welcome to my little corner of the blog world. Here, I share my thoughts on Christianity, the things of God, and the ways He has shaped and guided my path through life. My journey with the Lord has been long and transformative, marked by moments of peace and joy and periods of uncertainty. I write, first and foremost, for myself—to process what the Lord so graciously reveals to me in Scripture. Sharing some of these truths has become a mission of sorts, via blogging. His word urges us to bear witness and encourage one another.

As I reflect on my own transformation, I can say that the church itself has transformed over the years and not necessarily for the good. I speak about my own experiences with the church. One lesson the Lord impressed upon me this year is that “truth is not always truth.” What do I mean by that? There have been times when I’ve shared a biblical insight, only to realize that other faithful believers interpret the same passage differently. In that instance, I find that the Lord reveals according to our understanding. When I share the need for a Damascus experience understandings diverged sharply. Believers that have been raised in the church do not feel that such an extreme experience is necessary for spiritual maturity. Our faith is truly shaped by our backgrounds. Spiritual journeys are not for everyone. This taught me that early socialization deeply colors our grasp of faith; what’s true for me may not resonate in the same way for someone else.

Similarly, lately I considered how “ignorance of Scripture was its own blessing,” I remembered my early walk with Christ. I had a blind faith. I knew little of doctrine or debate. I trusted the pastor. In those days, my faith and trust in the church and church leaders was simple—I accepted what was taught from the pulpit without questioning. I did not have the knowledge needed to question any teaching. There was a peace in not knowing all the controversies or complexities. As I grew and studied the scriptures, and did some additional research, as the Lord gave understanding, I found myself questioning everything I had been taught. I did not question my faith, or the existence of God. That ignorance, while limiting, protected me from confusion and doubt, allowing me to rest in childlike faith.

The church itself has seen many changes over the decades. Self-proclaimed prophets have introduced new doctrines, some bordering on heresy, while believers wrestle with their flesh and what it means to follow Christ in a society with so many freedoms. I remember a time, more than thirty years ago, when I trusted every word spoken in church. Now, I understand how easy it is to accept teachings that stray from biblical truth. The Scriptures warned us this would happen in the last days.

2 Timothy 4:2-4 (NKJV) “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

Current events—like the 2024 Election—have exposed deep flaws in American Christianity. Yet, through it all, Scripture assures me that God is sovereign. No wall built by human hands can withstand His judgment; no scheme crafted in darkness escapes His light. These lessons have become more real to me as I look back over my journals, filled with stories of God’s faithfulness during trials, tribulations and abundant grace. By sharing I hope those the Lord leads here will desire to seek God wholeheartedly, to find comfort knowing that He is always at work in our lives—often in ways we never considered.

Check out my books on Amazon for the Kindle App or in print.

Check out my latest title: Where are my Sheep? Available in Print & Kindle

The Diary of A Christian Woman

A Father Takes All: Four Generations of Growing up in Single Mother Homes – Grace Abounds

I Will Not Be Afraid: Living in the last Hour – Reflections of a Christian Woman

The Journey Endured: The Path to Meet God

Praise the God of the heavens!