Six Months

Today is six months to the day since Susan went to Heaven. I’m compelled to record some thoughts that have been swirling in mind for the past while. I’ve visited her grave three times so far. I went once in August when the patch of sod was still sub-green and uneven, clearly outlining her exact burial place. I went again around October and found a pristine lawn with no headstone yet and only vague landmarks, so I could only guess where her body lay exactly.

A few days before Christmas, I received word from Rose Hills that her marker had been placed. I went there Christmas Day along with thousands of others attending their loved ones and found her grave easily. Our spot is secluded and quiet. Susan's marker looks just like I’d hoped – simple, lovely, and hopeful. That was her style. John 20:31 says, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” That verse summarizes Susan’s and my desire that, having received such grace from God for hard circumstances, our experience and response would lead others to this precious faith.

"Life in his name” on Susan’s headstone is God’s eternal Word for his people. "Life in his name” takes root as we live in relationship with him for our days on the earth. "Life in his name” infuses our dying through the power of the cross so death becomes a bitter but hope-filled parting for those we leave behind and a launch pad to heaven for us. And since his name is I AM (and I will be with you), "life in his name” forecasts our life without end, where with time and sin and death removed from our experience, we will be alive with the Lord forever. I sure wonder what that's like in heaven. Susan used to and no longer does.

I like the fact that her stone quietly screams “life in his name” from the grass right there over the bodies of Susan and thousands of others. It mocks the silence of death. It proclaims there’s more. It recalls the one who exchanged his life for ours in his dying and then reversed death for all with resurrection power. And since we know that life in his name is our choice and we also know whether we’ve chosen it or not, it urges a response from the living while we still have today. I hope you believe in Jesus Christ and have life in his name, because we're all destined for the dust. As weird as it sounds, there's a way to welcome that day. As my favorite Iowa-bred preacher says, God does his best work in graveyards.