When Completeness Comes

“For we know in part...but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1 Co 13:9-12

Every one of us have days that go down in our memory never to be forgotten and Monday was that day for me. One of my best friends from childhood was in the hospital with very little chance to survive the day. Bruce was scheduled for cataract surgery in the morning to which I was to drive him. Once surgery was over, I took him home and made my way to the hospital to be with Micki’s family and have a few hours by her side. The hours from morning to afternoon seemed to shrink and I felt the overwhelming toll on me, both physically and emotionally. By the end of the night, Bruce was already seeing better and Micki had been carried through the threshold of eternity. It was so much to process...so much to hold in my heart...so much heartache to contain.

But God is so mighty when we are so weak. The next morning Bruce had to be at the surgeon’s office for a recheck. I was so exhausted from the day before and was so relieved to hear the surgery was a success. But it wasn’t until I was driving us home that God transformed my heart through the words of my husband. Bruce began explaining to me that since he received the new lens in his right eye, he saw colors much differently than he previously had. He said when he covered his bad eye which will have a new lens in a few weeks, everything looked new... vibrant... beautiful ...crisp. But when he opened both eyes, things appeared muted and almost dingy. And when he covered his eye with the new lens, everything looked very dark with a yellow brownish tint. We talked about the way things will look when both eyes are done. And that is when God did what He lovingly always does for me...comforts and carries me. He whispered to me, ‘Micki has those new lenses now, Brenda. She is seeing things in ways she has never seen before. She is witnessing the beauty of eternity never imagined on earth. She sees Me face to face and knows Me fully like she never has. She is Home and she is now complete.’

You and I are mere reflections of who will be in Heaven. You and I see things on earth through a dark and muddled lens. You and I will one day see face to face Who we have only known in part. As we all walk towards our own completeness, I thank God that He gives us a glimpse of glory in which we will all be called one day. I thank God for Micki’s life...I thank God for my life-long friendship with her...and I thank God that He has made a way for each of us to experience eternity with both Him and our loved ones.