The Blessed Hope: How to Grieve Part 2

On February 15, 2018 around 7:07 pm, my beloved Nonna Iolanda took her last breathe and entered into eternal glory to be with her sweet Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Of course we will miss her here while the rest of us remain on earth. But we have such a hope that we will be seeing her again when it’s our turn to answer the call.

We rejoice in knowing her as an amazing woman while she walked this earth. She had many battles to face, which is why she was such a strong fighter. I will share the eulogy I was honoured to bring forward at her funeral in just a moment.

The title of this blog allows me to share what I have been experiencing during this time of "loss". I have had my moments to reflect and grieve, but I have felt God's continual peace in the process.
I know that I will be seeing my grandmother again, because she had accepted Jesus into her heart and lived a life that brought glory to Him, and so have I.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:3-9‬ ‭ESV

“For the grace of God has appeared,

bringing salvation for all people,

training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions,

and to live self-controlled,

upright, and godly lives in the present age,

waiting for our blessed hope,

the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

who gave himself for us

to redeem us from all lawlessness

and to purify for himself a people for his own possession

 who are zealous for good works.”

‭‭Titus‬ ‭2:11-14‬ ‭ESV

~~~

This is the eulogy I shared with the family and friends who attended the funeral service.

I felt that it would be appropriate to share here as a snapshot of who my grandma was...

mind you, this is an incredibly short synopsis, she truly was an incredible woman.

~~~

Where do we begin in attempting to summarize the precious eight-seven years of this incredible woman, in which we are gathering to honour today, Iolanda Bruno.

<addressed the family, which I will not name here for privacy purposes>

Nonna was strong, she may have been short but she was a fighter. She knew how to preserve, but she also knew how to love. And she loved hard; she welcomed every person she met with a warm heart and smile.

She loved the Lord her God with all her heart, she was a great example of faith and was constantly in prayer for her family. Over the last few years I, personally, had the privilege to spend a few minutes with her every morning in prayer before I went to work. She would always tell me that she thanked God for me, and that I was a person of great faith, but in reality, it was her faith that encouraged me to grow in my own.

Her hands were always busy, doing something to add value to each of our lives; whether it be through meal prep, laundry, cleaning, mending clothes, and even hearts. I’m thankful for those hands and the example they have been to me, and to us, as a family. We are definitely all hard workers because of her example.

Nonna was a peacemaker; she hated arguing and always desired to see her loved ones at peace with each other at all times. She was gentle and tender-hearted. She led a quiet life and minded her own business. But she was more than willing to be present and hear you out, doing her best to help in any way possible and would offer advice as best she could.

She had such a sense of humour, and has definitely passed on the joy and laughter to us. Nonna literally had her own dialect; she would constantly be making up words that she didn’t even know the meaning of, or how to explain it. 

She always wanted to ensure that you had eaten. I believe that she thought if you had been fed, you would be happy, and in turn, so would she. She was also an amazing cook.

She wanted to make sure you were comfortable and comforted. I heard a memory from one of her nephews, Paul, of when he was 4 or 5 years old, and he’s given me permission to share it here. He had slept over at my Nonno’s and Nonna’s house, his aunt’s house, and woke up in the middle of the night crying and wanting a balloon... and he recounts that they got balloons and blew up like 10 or more of them for him. He said it plainly, “Zia Iolanda was a very giving Zia and the love she would show to anyone that she would meet was always over the top.”

In conclusion, one thing I can say for sure... she was ready. As hard as it is for some of us to say goodbye, she was ready to go home and be with the Lord. Because there would be days my dad would come from work and ask how she was doing, and she would simply reply, “I’ma still-a here.” And my mom informed me she told all the doctors, at every appointment she went to, that she was ready to go.

And today we are here to celebrate the life of this beautiful woman, Iolanda Bruno. She will always be in our hearts, and her example of faith will continue on in ours. We are her legacy, and I am excited to share more of her story with you on one-on-one basis.

So... Nonna, you are so loved, and you will be missed but not forgotten. You have arrived to your final designation, heaven, to abide in the eternal glory of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Looking forward to seeing you again one day.
‬‬

Personal Study of Hebrews 11 - Part 5

Sorry for my delay, life has presented some scenarios that have taken priority over writing this study quickly. But, let us continue on this journey through Hebrews 11. This post is a breakdown verses 27 to 29. Each verse will be stated from the ESV, followed by connecting scripture references, word studies or other personal thoughts. I continue to hope you find this resource useful, insightful and perhaps even encouraging. Because faith, as I’ve heard it said, is the currency of heaven.

Faith: 

complete trust 

or confidence 

in someone 

or something.

 ~~~

Hebrews 11: Part 5 – Verses 27-29

²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 

I noticed, back in verse 23 of Hebrews, Moses’ parents were not afraid of the king’s edict, and now, as Moses has grown up, he also isn’t afraid of the king’s anger. Could it be, his parents told him the story of what had happened when he was born and how God had taken them through that situation? It would be a tremendous story of great faith to hear, indeed, and we still have access to it in Exodus 1!

Now... Yes. The verse says that Moses was not afraid of the anger of the king, but that doesn’t mean that Moses did not run for his life! After Moses killed the Egyptian who was mistreating a Hebrew, Pharaoh heard about it, and sought to kill Moses, “but Moses fled from Pharaoh” (see Exodus 2:15). Nowhere does the text in Exodus mention Moses had fear, although he fled, I believe that was out of the common sense in trying to save his life.

The phrase “seeing him who is invisible” could relate to Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush. To read more check out Exodus 3.

²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

What is Passover? This is a brief summary of what I uncovered in Exodus 12:

In the first month of the year, on tenth day every man was to take a lamb, according to his household. This lamb was to be without blemish, a male, and it was to be kept until the fourteenth day. Then every lamb for every household was to be killed at twilight (talk about massacre of little lambs)... Then the man would take the blood and sprinkle the blood on the two door posts of the house, as well as on the lintel (the top beam of the doorway). The flesh of the lamb would be roasted; every part of it, and in its entirety it was to be eaten in haste before morning. If anything was left over, it was to be burned. Israel was to be dressed as though they would be ready for anything; with shoes on their feet, belt fastened around their cloaks and their staff in their hand (see verse 11).

At midnight, the Lord was to pass over the land of Egypt and he would strike down all the firstborns. This was an execution of judgment.

Why the blood? The blood was a sign, on the houses where they lived... that a sacrifice was made, and the Lord would pass over the homes with the blood on the doorposts. Thus, allowing the household to be saved from the Destroyer of the firstborn. But everyone without the blood on their doorposts would result in having the firstborns killed at midnight.

As it says in Exodus 12:12-13:  “For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgements: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.”

This event, the Passover, was to be remembered by the people of Israel every year as “the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover” because it was when the Lord “passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses” (Exodus 12:27)

There is also a Feast of Unleavened Bread, which I will not being going into depth in this study, more can be about it in Exodus 12:14-20.

²⁹ By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 

So you might be wondering, what is the Red Sea, how was it crossed over on dry land and why did it need to be crossed?

Well that would require us to look back a bit... the people of Israel were in slavery in the land of Egypt. And God called Moses to deliver people OUT of Egypt. God would provide signs and wonders that would be presented to Pharaoh (and affect all of Egypt) but God would harden Pharaoh’s heart and he would not let the people of Israel go (Exodus 7:3-5).

These signs would include “the ten plagues”:

·         Water turned to blood (Exodus 7:14-24)

·         Frogs (Exodus 7:25-8:15)

·         Gnats (Exodus 8:16-19)

·         Flies (Exodus 8:20-32)

·         Livestock (Exodus 9:1-7)

·         Boils (Exodus 9:8-12)

·         Hail (Exodus 9:13-35)

·         Locusts (Exodus 10:1-20)

·         Darkness (Exodus 10:21-29), and

·         Firstborn (Exodus 11:1-10)

In the previous verse of Hebrews 11, we learnt about the Passover, which relates to the plague of the firstborn. After all the firstborn males in Egypt died, Pharaoh finally let Moses and the people of Israel leave the land of Egypt. Pharaoh said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested” (Exodus 12:32).

So off they went. But God purposely took the Israelites a longer way because if they had faced war they would have turned back towards Egypt (Exodus 13:17). God never wants us to enter freedom to think a few days later that things were better in bondage. So He’ll take us a longer way to keep us on track, and show us His provision and power.

After a short time Pharaoh and his officials “changed their minds” and they pursued the people of Israel to attempt to bring them back into slavery in Egypt. So Pharaoh sent out “six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt” to capture Israel (Exodus 14:5-7). God purposely hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would pursue Israel, “and I [the Lord] will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.” (Exodus 14:4)

The people of Israel saw the Egyptians pursuing them from afar and began to panic.  

*Enter the need for the Red Sea*

The Red Sea was a body of water that divides... modern day Egypt/Sudan and Saudi Arabia. Based on a quick Google search, Wikipedia states that the Red Sea is approximately 2250 km long, at its widest point 355 km, and can be as deep as 3,040 m. This isn’t a puddle-sized body of water. And according to this article by Jack Zavadaguest, “Crossing the Red Sea – Bible Story Summary: The Red Sea Crossing Showed God’s Miraculous Power”, the Israelites were also surrounded by mountains when they say Egypt pursuing them.

So Israel is freaked out, totally terrified, they cry out to the Lord and say to Moses that they would rather be slaves to Egypt than die in the wilderness. Moses response: “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again” (Exodus 14:13). I’m just taking that in for a second... What amazing faith, to declare such victory in a moment where the battle is closing in, and speedily. Moses continues his victory speech in verse 14, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Be silent? Shouldn’t they be sharpening their weapons? Or better yet, running towards the surrounding mountains? Because there would be no way they could swim across the length of the Red Sea in one stretch, even if it was attempted at the narrow parts!

God’s response to Moses in Exodus 14:15-18a is so direct; he gave them both instructions on what to do, how He would make it happen, and a glimpse of what the results would be... He said, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord..."

The “how”, to how God intervened and saved the Israelites while destroying all of the Egyptian army can be read in Exodus 14:19-31. But to sum this up, as it says in Hebrews 11:29, Israel walked on the dry ground of the Red Sea, while Egypt was swallowed up and drowned by the waters. “Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses” (Exodus 14:30-31). 

~~~

More to come!

How to Grieve

To be honest, this post may be titled incorrectly, because everyone experiences the grieving process differently. There might be some sort of process out there that explains the general transitions through the process of grieving, whether it's five steps or seven, it isn't an easy process.

And for me, I think I am grieving before my loved one has even departed. I may have mentioned at some point last year my beloved Nonna, she hasn't been doing so well, and has been in and out of the hospital for various reasons over the past two years. But let me say it loud, she is a fighter. Honestly, one of the strongest little ladies I've ever met.

The reason why I feel I am grieving before her death is that she's lost her ability to speak and is unresponsive to us. However, this morning, when I said hello she did seem to moan as a response to my greeting. Anyway, the point is, I feel that I've already lost such a beautiful and amazing lady, although her heart is still beating and she has breath in her lungs. How I would love to hear her voice in a cohesive sentence again.

I believe I'm writing this post to process my own thoughts, but at the same time I hope to be of encouragement to you, or simply anyone who is going through a similar situation. Because one day, you will. But there is hope, depending on where you've placed it. I know for a fact that my grandmother has accepted Jesus into her heart as her Saviour (Romans 10:9) and she has chosen life, and therefore will have life eternal (Deut 30:19 & John 3:16). And since I, myself, have accepted Jesus into my heart and life... this means, I, too, will be with Him and Nonna one day.. That is, when she passes away.

When we depart from our mortal bodies here on earth - being that we've accepted the work Christ has done on the cross and in our lives - we will be in the presence of the Lord. It says in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 ESV: "So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away [absent] from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord." What a beautiful hope and image for us.

There is so much more which I am still processing in my mind and heart... If I am to get through this, I must keep my hope on Christ. I have received advice to release Nonna, to tell her that I love her, how great of a grandma she's been, to thank her for her example of faith and great love, and to let her know that I'll be okay when she goes to be with the Lord. Because death is a physical thing in our bodies, and if there is an opportunity for closure I should take it. 

I have also received encouragement, through prayer and gentle words. Been given the reminder to allow God's peace to rule in our hearts, and God is our source of comfort but we are still to comfort each other. My goal is not to disconnect, to make sure I keep in the Word of God and in the company of loved ones.

More to come, God bless.