It was a beautiful room with a large window overlooking the green lawn and woods in the distance. The glass door that opened directly onto the patio provided additional light, making the room very bright. This was my second time to visit this room, but not my first time in the building. I had been in this same building two years prior visiting a friend who was dying with cancer. Now I was back to see another friend who was here waiting to die.

As I sat by her bedside we reminisced about life, our marriages and how much we missed our guys, we caught up on one another’s families, and we spoke of the brevity of our days on this earth. Her face was peaceful, yet there was a sadness in her voice as she spoke of the loneliness she felt spending her last days in such a sterile place. She shared with me how hard it was to think that she would never cook for her family again, she would never grocery shop again, go on a trip, or watch a grandchild’s school play or game.

Without even hardly taking a breath, our conversation turned toward heaven and what our husbands must be experiencing there. We were imagining the beauty they behold each day and the wonder of worship around the throne. In talking that afternoon, we came to see that the burdens, difficulties, and pain of this life are temporal, but the beauty of heaven and the wonder of worship around the throne will be ours to experience for all of eternity. As the reality of that truth set in, her face became radiant and her spirit peaceful.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 Corinthian 4:17-18 ESV

This earth is not our home. Our home is with our heavenly Father for all of eternity. What we experience here is only preparation for what is to come. So don’t lose heart, for although our outer man is wasting away, these light and momentary afflictions are preparing for us an eternal glory beyond comparison.

The sun-light filled room in which my friend now resides is just temporary. It cannot compare with the eternal glory and beauty that she will behold when God calls her home. Until then, she waits expectantly!

Suffering is both providential and profitable. It is profitable because it is providential. – Darryl Harris