Losing my mom is one of the deepest pain that I have ever experienced in my life, but it also made me realize that eternity is real. The last days of mama’s life made such a life-changing impression on me. What I experienced when I entered the ICU room of Holy Child Hospital in Dumaguete City on August 25, 2022, will stay with me for the rest of my life. Her eyes had tears when she took her last breath on this earth. I could feel heaven right there in the room. It was almost as if I could see Jesus Christ coming to take her to heaven, and I also had a great desire to go there.

I can never describe the feeling of peace that filled the ICU room at that moment, and in those moments, I made a decision that I would live the rest of my days here on earth in such a way that I would see Jesus Christ and my mom when my time comes. It would be foolish to become burdened by things of this earth. I am reminded by this verse from Matthew 6:20-21 “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”. Our possessions and achievements in this earthly world would still pass away. It is better to store up treasures that can last for eternity, and for me, that would be knowing more about Jesus Christ, His ministry, and having a personal relationship with Him.

As the apostle Paul stated in Philippians 1:21, ” to live is Christ, to die is gain” he understood the sufferings we have in this world. It was better to die and be with Christ forever, but it is not for us to decide when that would be, and so we continue living for Christ here on earth. Fighting against our sins that continue to ensnare us while looking to Christ to deliver us from our transgressions.

Even though I am experiencing grief after losing mama, it makes heaven closer when I think about her and Jesus Christ on the other side. I look forward to meeting my mama again one day in heaven. The tremendous peace that I witnessed and experienced that fateful evening on August 25, 2022, when Jesus came to take my mama home, has given me a glimpse of what awaits us in eternity. So I continue to live my life for Christ and strive to gain victory over sins that would hinder me in my walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am also reminded by this verse from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ” Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal”.

Philippians 3:20 ” For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Reuben J Chavez Los Baños