The Hope of Heaven

Yumiko Ruiz was diagnosed with rare lung cancer that only Japanese women have. It didn't matter if they never smoked in their life; for some reason, it's only Japanese women that experience this. After going through chemo for six years, the cancer came back and was getting worse and worse. Refusing to go through treatments again, she decided to go on in life. When I was able to visit her one afternoon, we talked about her cancer. She said that normally people with lung cancer die in a way that feels like drowning above water. After saying "God, doesn't that sound horrible?" she and I prayed that she wouldn't die that way, but would die how she wished: peacefully in her sleep. Despite the severity of her lung cancer, four months later, that's just what happened: she was able to give three deep breaths and passed peacefully, calmly into Heaven.

Yumiko was my grandmother.

One afternoon, I shared with her what Heaven looked like using Revelation 21 as a reference: streets of gold, a sea of glass, gates made out of a solid pearl, and the best part--Jesus being there as the center and source of light. When I spoke this to her, her face lit up with a smile, and she said something that took me back: "No one has ever told me what Heaven would be like!"  

I saw a miracle happen before my eyes that day. I saw fear replaced with HOPE. Heaven is not simply a place, but a person: Jesus. She went from a fear of death to anticipation of Heaven. The fear that once crippled her spirit was replaced with anticipation of going to be with Jesus.

They say the best soldiers in the military are the ones that have a solid personal relationship with Christ. I saw this through my grandmother fighting lung cancer, and now I pray for this hope to be evident in the lives of my family as well. "God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind." -2 Timothy 1:7 

By Hannah Puhse