RIP - the revised version
In honor of Carol's homegoing…
RIP - REST IN PEACE?
It’s a phrase borrowed unthinkingly from the religious world. It’s used to express a person’s wish for the departed: May Carol find peace for her soul… final rest from the struggles and pain of her earthly journey.
In Spanish: “que descanse en paz” clearly appears in the subjunctive mode. It’s not a statement of fact, like “she’s at peace now.” It’s an expression of a wish, a desire… we hope she finds peace. How many people saying “rest in peace” would it take to improve Carol’s well-being in the afterlife?
It’s not an appropriate phrase, especially in the case of someone like Carol.
One of her go-to phrases has always been: “We can trust God.” The reason for that trust is more solid than the concrete in the foundation of a house. There is no wiggle room in the Gospel. No part of what we do here helps God to save us for eternity; once in Christ, nothing we do or don’t do prompts God to dump us.
Jesus said…
“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37 ESV)
A lot happens when we come to Jesus. Carol came to Jesus when she was a child; she cemented that relationship in her college years when she realized what “Jesus, Lord of my life” should look like. And there you have the foundation for Milt and Carol as missionaries in Japan… then their final 8 years in Okinawa.
It’s also part of why Carol married a weird guy like me in 2018. We’d both lived far from our homeland for the same 2 reasons: 1) Jesus is Lord. 2) He said “Go!”
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:18-19 ESV)
Before we married we faced our reality head-on. The probability of lots of wedding anniversaries was somewhat lower for us than for couples marrying in their 20’s. Whether the Lord gave us 2 days, 2 months, or 2 decades together, we determined—by the grace of God—to simply praise him and say thank you.
“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Corinthians 5:1 ESV)
“…so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” (2 Corinthians 5:4 ESV)
That’s what the vigil of recent days has been about. Far from anguish or despair or bitterness at her parting, we lift our heads, open our hands palms upward, and we repeat one of Carol’s favorite Japanese phrases: ”We humbly and gratefully receive it.”1
RIP - RESTING IN PEACE!
**Information about a celebration service for Carol to follow.
謙虚に、そしてありがたく受け取ります
Kenkyo ni, soshite arigataku uketorimasu
”Receive humbly and gratefully”.”
Enjoyed watching Carol's life growing in the Lord. The Lord had given her a special gift of leadership and she used that to glorify Him. She would want everyone to know that she has entered into the fullness of all that the Lord has for her after this life. She would want all those she loved to share that with her.
Beautiful thoughts! 🥲💓