A Touching Story

A Touching Story

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy.

Romans 15:13

An elderly man lay dying upstairs in his bed. He gathered his remaining strength and lifted himself slowly from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he made his way out of the bedroom. With even greater effort, he forced his bony fingers to grab the handrail, and he let himself down the stairs, one painful step at a time.

With labored breath, he leaned against the door frame and gazed into the kitchen. Were it not for his agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven. There on the kitchen table, spread out in neat rows on wax paper, were literally hundreds of his favorite gooey chocolate chip cookies. Was he already in heaven, or was this one final, heroic act of love from his devoted wife of sixty years, seeing to it that he experienced one tasty indulgence so he could leave this world a happy man?

Mustering his last bit of strength, he threw himself toward the table, landing on his knees. His parched lips were parted in anticipation. He could almost taste the wondrous, moist, chocolaty cookie. His withered hand, driven by one last, gritty effort, made its way shakily toward a large cookie at the edge of the table, only to withdraw when his wife smacked it with a spatula.

“Stay out of those,” she ordered. “They’re for the funeral!”

Father, we know that heaven will be filled with delights beyond our imagination. Help us to concentrate on the joys to come and to stay focused on our eternal rewards rather than allow ourselves to be distracted by earthly pleasures. Amen.