To live is Christ and to die is gain
Hi everyone. A lot of people found out that I went to Asia a few weeks prior. However, not a lot of people know why I went, and even less people know what happened during my time. It’s already been two weeks since I’ve been back, and I haven’t written anything because I never really felt like it. But currently as I’m beginning to reflect more on my life and what God has been doing, I felt some sort of urge to share with people. It’s Valentine’s Day and this could be a little bit depressing to read, but if you’re interested, then here’s my life for you!
When talking on the phone, my grandma has this habit of hanging up without saying good-bye. You could just be talking with her and before you know it, you’re just talking to yourself. In a similar manner, my grandma passed away on January 13th, 2016, peacefully leaving without a single word for my family, leaving us to wonder why she had to leave so soon.
I found out on the morning of the 13th that she had passed, and then I found out on the night of the 13th that I’d be leaving for Hong Kong on the 23rd for her funeral. Needless to say, everything happened very fast and everything felt so surreal until I actually left for Asia. To be honest, I don’t think my grandma’s death impacted me that greatly because I didn’t know her very well. However, there was still lots of anxiousness in going, because I didn’t know what to expect.
Anyways, I left for Asia at 7 AM in the morning on the 23rd. A part of me was kind of bummed that I was missing out on fasting and revival stuff with our church, but I also felt like being able to be with family in a time like this over in Asia would be good for me.
Here’s a quick outline of events. On the night of the 26th, we had my grandma’s funeral service. On the morning of the 27th, we had my grandma’s cremation service. On the morning of the 30th, we brought my grandma’s ashes to the cemetery. I just kind of did whatever with my parents and relatives for all the time in between (and also met up with some old HMCC folk).
Going into this trip, I thought it was going to be a very depressing and difficult time. I just wasn’t looking forward to seeing the people around me break down. I didn’t want to see people hurting.
But God is so good, and there is so much hope in knowing who He is.
Thanks to God, this time of mourning became a time of celebrating. At first it was easy to get caught up with how my grandma left so suddenly, seemingly leaving nothing behind. However, as people began to reflect on her life, they remembered a woman of Christ who lovingly and joyfully served the people around her, even when it was hard. My grandma didn’t leave us empty handed. She left us with an example of Christ.
It was a fascinating experience because next door to our funeral service was a traditional Chinese funeral. If you didn’t know, Chinese people believe in burning paper objects in hopes that their deceased relatives would receive these things in whatever afterlife they believe in. As I looked at all these paper objects that were preparing to be burned, I just couldn’t help but think of how little hope they have.
And you know, if we didn’t have Christ, this story would be really depressing. There wouldn’t be any hope for much really. However, because God so loved this world, that He chose to send His son down to die for our sin. And in Christ, we know my grandma is in heaven. We know that she is with God. We know that she’s reunited with my grandpa. And we know that one day, we will join her in heaven. And it’s amazing that this is the hope that we have in the love of God.
Turns out, this story isn’t too depressing to share on Valentine’s day, because there is nothing greater than God’s love for all of us.
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