When he looked at me I knew exactly what he was seeing; rather, I knew exactly what he was feeling. His eyes were filled with anticipation, like a man who was ready to jump off a Hawaiian cliff into the clear waters. Before he spoke a word, I came to him…reached for his hand because I knew he was about to reach for mine.

“Yes,” I whispered knowingly. He had just told me he loved me just with his eyes. But there was more he needed to say. He had my attention.

“You pray, don’t you?” he asked.

“Yes.”

I felt his hand wrap tighter around mine. “You tell God I am ready to go. I am ready. I am ready now. You tell Him,” he said without faltering his stare. A lifetime pooled in his eyes, and I felt his plea stun me with a responsibility I was not sure I was capable of receiving.  

He is in the final stages of life. His once strong and masculine body had been transformed by cancer into a pale and weak shell. Yet, those eyes…those eyes spoke to me like a twenty-year old man who had waited a lifetime just to say those words. His eyes carried the passionate message his body was too weak to deliver.

To an observer this would be an odd exchange, but to me it was an honor to feel his life pulse from his feeble hand to mine. We were of different times. He already had his eye on heaven, and I was still in this world. Yet, he trusted me to carry a message. He wanted my help if only to be another voice besides his own to reach Jesus.  It was moment before I could collect myself because I could see him jump off the cliff, and I could feel the waves splash upon my soul. His plea freed him. His question allowed him to stop carrying all weight of this world. “I will tell Him,” I said. “I will.”

I couldn’t help but understand in that moment we are of this world and of His world. Sometimes our final days are slow coming, yet obvious, and we have a chance to prepare and see the view we are leaving and gaze upon the view we are about to receive. Other times death comes upon us without warning. No matter the timing, heaven comes upon us now. Whether we are standing with anticipation at the cliff or being splashed by the wave….each of us is of this world and the spiritual world. We are only separated by our days left, and since we don’t know the exact number…then in a way we are all united in the understanding that some of us are closer to God by birth or by death, and some of us are closer to God by our living.  

Life is a journey of purposeful timing, purposeful prayer, and purposeful action. When we are reaching out, we oftentimes recognize one another not by appearances but by feelings. We can sense His love, His acceptance, and His grace in others. Sometimes even before a word is spoken, we feel the desire to reach out for their hand because you know if self-awareness were pushed aside they would already be reaching out for yours.

As Christians, we are challenged to tune into one another at a level beyond base connections. We are called to be connected, accountable, and deliver the message of His grace and love for we will all be in every stage before our time is finished. May heaven splash upon your soul today and may we find freedom in the assurance that we are not alone.