At the East Gate

Yesterday was Easter Sunday.

This Easter meant a little more to me this year, as the great reality of the fragility of life has taken up a quiet residence in the back of my mind lately. Every day, death faces us- whether we're driving to work or eating our dinner or playing basketball outside. Just because we can't see it, doesn't mean it's not there. Watching my husband leave for the war-torn deserts and mountains of Afghanistan, I realize that his chances of death are not increased- they are merely brought into such drastic relief that it's impossible NOT to notice them. Daily.

My husband has been known to say that "Christians make the best soldiers." Whatever he meant by that, I imagine that one of the most notable differences between a Christian soldier and his unbelieving comrades is his certainty regarding death. There are many soldiers, I'm sure, who would say that they do not fear death. There is an intensity, an adrenaline high in combat that oftentimes strips humans of their immediate fear of death. It enables everyday people to do extraordinarily heroic things. The glory, however, of being a Christian soldier is that, whether or not that soldier fears DEATH, he does not fear JUDGMENT!

Death has truly been described as "the last enemy." Perhaps soldiers, more than any of us, understand the implications of that. Death is real, scary, fatal. But, a soldier who dies in Christ can, with his final breath, cry in triumph, "Where, o death is your sting?! Where, grave, is your victory?!" What enables that Warrior of the King to sacrifice his life for his country is the knowledge that the ultimate battle has already been won. Sin has been conquered! Terrorism and injustice and suffering have been surrounded...it's a just a matter of time before they are dug from their fox hole and exposed to the vengeance of an omnipotent Conqueror! THAT is the grit that no amount of training or psychological imaging can teach!

As an Army wife, the thought that my husband may not come home is a very present reality. As I fell asleep last night, my room was filled with the scent of the flowers that my Dan sent me a few weeks ago. My flowers are dead by now. But, I can smell them now more than I could when they were alive. I like to believe that that's how a Christian should view life. God will not take us until our work on this earth is complete. But, when He does, He leaves a sweet aroma. It is the reminder to those left behind that this life is not the end! Because of Christ's triumph over death, we will rise again!

I will never forget the parting words of Dan's pastor  as they hugged for the last time before Dan left. "Brother, if I don't see you again in this life....meet me at the East Gate!" Tears flood my eyes even as I write this- as I remember their embrace- two strong men, bonded by their love for each other and for God, eyes glazing with quiet tears- but in my soul there is a quiet sense of triumph. Yes! One day we will all have to leave this earth. But, bless God! we leave it for a better place- that East Gate and a new earth!

Bless God for the tomb that could hold Christ no longer!

Bless God for the promise of a new- a perfect- life, free from war and heartache and goodbyes.

And bless God that, as long as we are still here on this earth, there is JOY in the journey! Joy that allows normal people to endure extraordinary things. Joy that finds peace in the midst of the storm. Joy that is fiercely independent of the circumstances that vainly bombard it.

I trade in my "Hooah" tonight for a hearty Hallelujah! ... and again I say REJOICE!