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A funeral service to remember
I went to a funeral on Saturday for Warren Northrup’s wife Joan, who passed away this last Wednesday. Warren rides the 1200 Goldwing with the CMA stickers on it and rides with us on Fridays for breakfast. He was involved with the same CMA Chapter, The Victory Riders as I once was.
J.R. and a couple of others from the Friday morning riding group showed up to support Warren in his time of need.
At the service Warren told this story that was so inspiring that I wish I had it recorded since it was so amazing.
I will try and re-tell it as I believe I heard it and hope the details are accurate and the meaning gets through.
Now I don’t know what Joan died from or even what sickness she had but I had heard that she had been sick for a while.
Anyway, at the service in Hemet on Saturday, Warren had mentioned how years ago he had prayed for a wife that would serve the Lord and that is exactly what the Lord gave him. They both were involved in several ministries that touched a lot of people.
He also was telling us that she was in Heaven and how beautiful heaven is. He read some scriptures telling about the new city and the description of the twelve gates and the walls and how the streets were not paved in gold, but were made of gold. He mentioned that the city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God gives it light. If anyone of us had been given a glimpse of Heaven that we would be so amazed and in awe that we could not wait to get there.
Have you ever saw some possession here on earth, and kept thinking about it and thinking about it until finally you decided you wanted to have what ever it was? Your will and desire to have something became so strong that you changed things in your life to have that earthly possession. The power of our will is often taken for granted and most of the time not understood completely.
Warren also mentioned that it is our decision to decide if we want to go to Heaven, we make the decision to repent and be born again. If we have a willingness to serve God then our lives will be changed and our will to serve God will grow.
Warren and Joan were believing God for Joan’s healing because in the Bible it says, “by his stripes we are healed.” When Jesus died on the cross, he not only died for our sins, but for our health and well being while here on earth. We were given the power to overcome sickness and death by what Jesus did on the cross. Warren and Joan believed this with all their heart and prayed constantly that God would heal her and their will was so strong they believed that God would heal her.
Warren was telling how Joan had been sleeping in a hospital bed in the living room and he was sleeping in the bedroom, when about four nights before she passed away, Warren heard some rustling in the front room and as he awoke from a sound sleep heard Joan yell out, “Warren, come here, you got to see this.”
Well, Warren was still half asleep and yelled back, “What is it?”
Joan then yelled again, “Warren, come here, you got to see this.”
Warren then repeated, “What is it?”
For the third time Joan said, “Just come out here and see this”. So Warren went to the living room and saw his wife sitting on the edge of the bed with her arms raised up while she was worshiping the Lord. Warren kept asking, “What is it?” But she never said what it was and just kept worshiping and praising the Lord.
Well, the next day or two she got to the point where she was loosing strength and not eating very much and would sleep most of the day. It got to the point that she wasn’t even able to open her mouth to eat.
A couple of day’s later Joan passed away.
Warren then called some family members and the pastor of his church who came right over and was praying with Warren, when the pastor yells out, “I know what it is”.
Warren says, “ Would someone please tell me what it is”
The pastor said, “She got a glimpse of Heaven.”
You see that night that Joan sat at the edge of the bed and was worshiping the Lord, she got a glimpse of Heaven, and when she did, her will to stay here on earth changed. Her will to live changed. In doing this she instantly changed her will from wanting so badly to be healed to wanting to be in Heaven with Jesus.
Could you imagine that? Getting a glimpse of Heaven. Every one of us would change our will in an instant to be with Jesus if we just got a glimpse of Heaven.
This was truly an inspiring moment that Warren shared with us at her service.
Warren said he would not grieve for her because Joan is in a better place. As much as we would love to have her back with us here on earth, knowing how beautiful Heaven must be, Joan would not give up being in Heaven to be with any one of us here on earth.
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