The Saints Who've Gone Before Us

The Saints Who’ve Gone Before Us

Theology in the Trenches

by Kathleen Kjolhaug

 

I couldn’t put my finger on it, but today I did. Thumbing through my overstuffed Bible, I found it deep within its folds.

 Electronic devices have been my companion as of late. Instant gratification comes with the touch of a screen. Tap…Bible verse of the day. Tap…daily devotional appears on screen. Tap…second devotional source pops up. Tap…e-mail connections. Tap…face book communication. Tap…msn.com homepage. Tap…message a friend. All this in mere minutes…lots of input with very little output. Mind on neutral and I coast my way into the morning grabbing pen to begin my to-do list.

 This morning as I picked up my i-pad, I noticed an overstuffed soft covered book beneath it. It read, “Bible.” I chose to set aside the electronics and picked it up. Turning to a verse, it appeared to speak directly to my personal circumstances. My thoughts floated in the quietude, and He spoke.

 As I continued paging through it, I noted selectively saved papers tucked away adding bulk to the already bulky book. Sister Maria, my close comrade and confidant while living in South America, was called in her sixties to build a mission along the border of Paraguay and Brazil. That was back in 1980 and her letters continue to inspire though she is no longer upon this earthly terrain we trod.

 Next, I came upon a hand written letter from two members of our church family. They, too, walk on pathways which are no longer of this world, but today their words carried me. More notes from an uncle, a friend’s mom, that same friend’s dad, another’s young son…each one spoke of Saints who’ve gone before us. And then…my breath caught. There, in the center of my Bible was mom’s final marked message to the world.

 Mom’s In Memoriam was simple. The words typed upon it gave the family history collected about one’s life. That part was standard but as I read, I remembered a woman who had gone before me with much tenacity, vocal expression, and with strong warrior like battle cries for each of her children. Oh, you didn’t mess with “Pat’s kids” and they didn’t mess with her. She was a strong one. She was strong in what she desired for each of us.

 What she desired stood in picture form upon her In Memoriam given out to all who came to honor her passing. It was a picture entitled, “Christ at Heart’s Door.” Jesus is standing at a softly lit rounded wooden doorway. Greenery frames the entry way, but the glow resonates from Him…which deeply resonated from mom. And, He is tapping. Ever so gently, He is tapping upon the doorway to be opened. This hidden treasure within the folds fluttered to the top in memorandum from a Saint who’s gone before us…only to be found when we listen in the quietude as He speaks.

 “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:20).  Amen.