Two days ago, I lost another friend to cancer. Right now I am not thinking about “her brave battle” with this terrible disease as so many people seem to say afterwards. There is nothing admirable about cancer or the enemy who came to steal, kill and destroy another life. I refuse to give the devil any credit at all for such evil.

Instead, I grieve a special woman who leaves a little hole in my heart.

Sara came into my life at the food bank two years ago. She and her husband showed up one afternoon with a pick up truck loaded with food. She was upbeat and cheerful as she introduced herself and her husband Jim. It was obvious from her headscarf that she was undergoing chemotherapy. “We want to help you out with donations,” she said. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect because the shelves were pretty bare. The next time they came with another truck filled with bulk food, cereal, canned goods, etc., I was curious and asked her why they were being so generous.  Sara gave me a beautiful smile. “We’ve been very blessed,” she said, “and just want to give back.” Her words humbled me and I have not forgotten them. In the midst of her sickness and trials, she chose to help those who were less fortunate because she was “blessed.”

She and Jim gave back over and over, filling up the shelves or funding holiday dinners for families. Sara took on some techie business we didn’t have time for, with my sincere gratitude. Our paths didn’t cross outside of the food bank and I didn’t see her very often in the last six months. But in the short time I did know her, she and Jim impacted me greatly. I was reminded of Jesus’ call to feed the hungry every time this couple showed up. Theirs is the abiding heart filled with  Matthew 25, Christ’s love for the poor and hurting.

This morning I chanced across an old hymn , “Abide With Me, “ written in 1846 by Henry Francis Lyte. It not only comforted me , but once more,  the Lord  draws my attention  to that word abiding:

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

 It reminded me that our mortal frames wear out all too soon and thus, we need God’s Holy Spirit presence more than ever before. It is He who comforts in the beginning, consoles us all throughout and when all else flees,  abiding love remains. Sara’s eventide came too soon for those who knew her. I’ll grieve a little while but I will also be joyful for my friend who surely knew the Lord.   Jesus promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us because it is Jesus who abides in the believer’s heart on earth in all situations, through all illnesses. In Revelation John gives a glimpse into what the Christian believer can look forward to in the moments after the final darkness falls:

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away Rev:21:4

Jesus overcame death and the grave. Cancer as well as every disease will be erased. The real battle has been won for us. The victory is in Christ, in eternal life.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.