
Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
2 Corinthians 5:1 (NIV)
Mrs. Alma looked out the window, kneading the afghan in her lap. Turning back to me, she said, wistfully, “I like it here (in assisted living), but I miss the farm. I never wanted to leave.”
“Oh,” I said. “When did you leave the farm, Mrs. Alma?”—thinking it had been only a short time ago. “In 1981,” she replied. I quickly did the math; it had been fourteen years! Yet to her it seemed like yesterday.
My friend went on to tell me how she and her husband, Clyde, bought the farm after he came back from the war. “It was eighty acres of hard scrabble dirt,” she relayed, “but we turned it into an oasis.”
Mrs. Alma looked out the window once more, her mind miles away from her little room. Still peering at the parking lot, she began quoting one of her favorite Bible verses:
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:7,18 (NIV)
Finally, she turned toward me once more, but now with her face shining like an angel. I realized I was witnessing a precious moment, between her and the one she called her “Sweet Jesus.” Yes, Mrs. Alma missed the farm, but she longed for heaven even more… and now, so did I!
We live by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV)
This piece was first published in Sunshine Weekly Newsletter, a publication which is shared in nursing homes and assisted living centers. A special thank you to Peter Caligiuri, aka “Pastor Pete,” for inviting me to contribute a monthly column! Peter blogs at praise2worship.net
Thank you for reading. 🙏❤️ prayers and love.

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