A year ago on Halloween, my younger sister passed away.

As we sat and waited for the coroner to come and pick her up,

We saw and heard trick or treaters going door to door.

True to form for my family,

We cried and hugged, we held each other as tears flowed,

But eventually we turned to laughter…

My sister would have appreciated our irreverent and inappropriate comment:

We suggested sitting her body on the porch that she loved so well

With a bowl of candy in her hands.

We laughed about what would be quite the hilarious, (memorable, and cruel) trick

to the unsuspecting.

I don’t think I could have laughed then

If I had known how much I would miss her.

This sometimes feels like quite the harsh trick…

Her the younger, me the older,

Loving her every day of her life, sharing our history, and now she’s gone.

I go to pick up the phone and remember, she’s not there.

But then I remember she has the best TREAT of all…

She is no longer tormented by anxiety and depression.

She is no longer fighting as cancer ravages her body.

She is in a place with no suffering.

“Jesus will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."*

Sometimes my sister’s life looked like a “cruel trick.”

But she is no longer anxious in her own skin.

She no longer has the persistent hum of sadness no matter what she is doing.

She now lives in peace and rest.

She now lives in joy that is not based on circumstance.

She now has the ultimate relationship --

The unconditional undying love of a Savior --

A relationship that will fill her soul forever!

“Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.”**

I just wish she would have realized sooner

That she could have experienced peace in this life as well.

His presence brightens our despair.

Abundant life in Jesus begins here.

That’s a TREAT

we can all count on if we knock on His door!

Read Revelation 21:1-7 for more about

what the future holds for those who seek Him.

* Revelation 21:4

** John 11:25-26