The Gospel of John Chapter 7

As our family sat by my mother-in-law's bedside the days before her death, I'm sure that we all thought more than once, "Dear God, just let her go." Watching her suffer with the breathing treatments and the obvious pain her body was enduring from the leukemia, congestive heart failure, and other complications; it was hard to witness her so broken. Marilyn was a woman of high energy and endurance, someone at her funeral service described her as the energizer bunny. As a matter of fact, for many years previous to her passing, Marilyn had undergone routine blood treatments to control her leukemia. She would receive blood transfusions which literally served to recharge her energy levels, much like recharging a battery. So, staying true to her nature until the very end, Marilyn did not give up on life without a fight. The days watching her sluggish final breaths felt like time had been suspended. As each breath faintly rose and fell, it was a miracle when yet another would gradually follow.

Jesus said to His disciples in the Gospel of John, chapter 7, verse 6, "My time has not fully come." He knew that His life on Earth was growing short, but Jesus was not ready to give up on His people until his time was complete. He had learned that the Jews from Judea were seeking to kill him, so He had to be extra careful not to call attention to Himself as he entered Judea for the Jewish feast of Tabernacles. Instead of following His disciples into the city, Jesus chose to enter alone without an entourage. When He arrived, He continued His teaching in the temple. He caused such a stir among the people that the chief priests and pharisees sent officers to arrest Him, but Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little longer, and then I go to him who sent me (John, chapter 7, verse 33)."

Jesus was teaching up to the end. Every corner of the countryside was a place where He could spread the message that the Messiah was indeed among them. He didn't stop until His final breath. I think of my mother-in-law Marilyn in the same way, she didn't stop her work here on Earth until she took her last breath. She was a gift-giver. Her whole life was spent giving to her loved ones. She made every holiday, birthday, and milestone a reason to honor those whom she loved with a gift. Special occasions were not even necessary, gifts would appear on our doorsteps because Marilyn was simply thinking of us. Evidence of her benevolence was scattered throughout her home. A few days before her passing, we went to her apartment to put together an outfit for her burial. As we opened her closets, we discovered rolls and rolls of gift wrap, bows, and ribbon. In a corner of her dining room, it was clear by the stacks of presents both wrapped and some unwrapped that she was busy in her Santa's workshop right up until she was admitted to the hospital. Even in the hospital, she was giving. As family and visitors came and went, Marilyn asked about us, about our lives. She continued to give with her concern and her interest despite her observable physical suffering and impending fatality.

Like Jesus, did my mother-in-law know that she would only be with us "a little longer?"  And, if we choose to believe in the signs we are given, like Jesus', was her life meant to be a lesson to us whom she loved, to remember that until our own time has fully come, we must continue our intended work here on Earth. Whether it be gift-giving like Marilyn or teaching, nursing, waitressing, ministering, counseling, etc., we have all been endowed with some talent or gift to give our love to others. We are expected to continue to serve until our time is complete. Jesus reminds us in verse 33, that we are all only here "a little longer." Pablo Picasso said it so beautifully in his quote, "the meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away."