The Teapot

While I was at my parents' house on Sunday, my mom gave me back a teapot that I had given my grandmother. I had to bite my lip to fight back the tears as I held it in my hands. I had just bought the teapot in Germany when I went in November for a workshop there, and I had given it to Nana for Christmas. It's hard to believe that's the last present I would ever give my grandma. And holding it there in my hands brought on a wave of emotions in my heart. How I wish I could talk to her again, tell her about my trip to Europe...she always listened to my stories and was so involved in my life. How I wish I could play the piano for her again...she loved that more than anything. How I wish I could go back and treasure that last hug goodbye I gave her before heading to Germany...she cried because she knew it would be the last. Grandmothers hold a special place in our hearts, and when they are gone, it hurts.

But I am thankful that Nana is in heaven and I will see her again someday. I am thankful that even Jesus wept when His friend died, that He knows the sadness of death and can comfort us in our pain. And I am thankful that Jesus conquered death, rose from the dead, and is creating a place in heaven for each one of us that asks Him into our hearts.

"I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

-1 Corinthians 15:50-58