In the Power of the Tongue

In the Power of the Tongue

Some say that with every death in your life there is a birth. With every closure, there is a new beginning. I want to say that I don't believe them -- not that this hasn't happened to me. Today I found out that my sister had her first child – a baby girl: 8 lbs. 11 oz, 20 ½ inches. I also found out today that our friend in Canada also miscarried. This isn't her first miscarriage. Such a mix of emotions. The reason I don't want to believe them is that I believe life is stronger than death, that good is stronger than evil and that death is evil -- at least that death wasn't something that was meant to be. I can see this in nature. I collect seeds. I planted some marigolds and poppies last year. They grew up all summer long, and I collected the seeds as each flower faded. In the end I had a multiplication of seeds - hundreds more than I had in the beginning. What once was a small packet of seeds is now a whole Ziploc full. A tree yields thousands more seeds than the one seed that died to become the giant tree it now is. Almost every thing in creation produces much more life than the solitary life that in the end may have perished.

I also don't believe them, because I believe in heaven.

Jesus said He was the Life. He rose again from death. Death and life and not equal, nor are they yin and yang that must be kept in balance. He busted through death and brought an overcoming life. I believe this.

I try to plant as much as I can. I hate fake plants. I can appreciate someone's artistic ability in making them, but I don't want them in my house. I choose life. I want to surround myself as much as possible with life and living things. It helps remind me that life is worth it. It helps keep hope alive in me. Something inside me tells me that death wasn't meant to be. That there is something greater. I have faced it many times; I remember going to my first funeral - Great Grandma, or one of the first I can remember. They sang the Hymn, "Jesus Shall Reign". I remember asking Jesus to raise our neighbor from the dead, as she lay cold and lifeless in her casket. She died when a boulder broke off a cliff and smashed through the window of her car as she was driving. The passenger had to maneuver the vehicle into the guard rail as her friend lay with her neck broken. I hope to see her one day. I remember searching for a young boy with many other volunteers. He drowned in a septic tank. I also remember the day our daughter was born at home, and I caught her as she came out. She wiggled and cooed and sang like a bird. They were the most beautiful sounds I had ever heard. Right now I look in the window sill and see the germinating of more than a hundred seeds I planted within the last couple weeks. The sun is shining, the grass is beginning to turn green, and the snow is melting away. I wonder if you can plant popcorn. Sometimes I take the seeds from produce from the store and plant them to try to grow another. I like plants.

I lived in Jerusalem for a year. I witnessed several bus bombings while I was there. They were gruesome. Yet I marvel at the fact that these people have survived for over 3600 years. My daughter is learning to walk. She can stand up by herself for a few seconds and push around a toy shopping cart by herself. Sometimes she snores or at least breathes loudly when she sleeps – it is the most beautiful sound. Last night I heard her laugh and giggle in her sleep. Those angels must be tickling her.

Heaven must be a wonderful place, so I've heard. I may have seen glimpses of it. I've heard of a few people who died and went there and came back to tell about it. I've read some of these stories, and I believe them. No sickness, no disease, no death. I don't think cancer was meant to be. Something is wrong with mutant cells taking over someone's body and stealing their life. My wife's late husband died from cancer; he is my friend. I say this because I believe in heaven, and I will see him again. A two year-old girl named Layla died from cancer in Texas this last week. Something's wrong with that. I hate death. Death wasn't meant to be. Death wasn't meant to be, but it is. It is, but it will not always be. Death wears the face of time, and I have time. I believe this. As much as I can I will live. I will give life and stop death; as much Life that is in me – it will live. Yesterday we took a walk. Today I think we may take another walk. My daughter smiles in her stroller and my wife and I hold hands. I think we'll have four children. Maybe more. I like Spring. Fall and Winter are always followed by Spring. And Summer. One day Fall and Winter won't follow Summer; at least it won't be quite the same. I believe this.