Thought this was worth re-posting here!

Counting Down – A Letter to My Church Family

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Bob Bixby

I know so many of you have been praying for my cousin’s wife, Amy. You may have read her last word to us, a blog post that has been read by thousands already and has been powerfully useful to strengthen the faith of many of us. Amy has had some very rough nights lately. There are signs that the cancer has begun to encroach her brain and her very last days are upon her. You can read updates here: http://www.amycbixby.org/updates/

If you have not read Amy’s own words, I urge you to take the time to read them. They can be read here: http://amycaldwellbixby.blogspot.com/

When one considers that she is a Mommy with young children — she had a good day a couple of days ago and so she asked her husband to take her and the girls to the mall to get all the girls’ ears pierced, something Moms do with their girls — and that she is still in her thirties, it is incredibly moving to think of her reaching the point that she now longs for home. Perhaps some of the suffering she must face now is necessary so that her loved ones will be able to release her as well, knowing that her afflictions will finally be forever over. I urge you to pray for Amy, Jon, and their seven children.

I have often read Pilgrim’s Progress and one of my favorite sections is in the lesser known part of the Pilgrim’s Progress when Christiana, Pilgrim’s wife, is about to enter the Celestial City. John Bunyan is much more detailed and explanatory in his words for dying Christians than in the first part when he tells about Pilgrim’s glorious exit. This detail is helpful because it is appointed unto man to die. And I urge you all to read about all of Christiana’s friends as they make their way to the Celestial City. I have actually read the Pilgrim’s Progress sections into the ears of a dying saint.

The pastoral part of me wants to guide. And I am not in a position to pastor or serve or hug the Jon Bixbys. I hardly know Amy. I’ve talked with her more in the last year than I have with my cousin. We were discussing a potential book that I wanted to do in cooperation with her, one that is mostly written. I stepped back from the effort while Amy was healthy because I knew she was counting her kisses. Yes, that’s the suggested title for the little booklet on suffering and dying — “Counting Kisses” — that I hope will actually be produced. A mother of seven only has so many more kisses to give and receive when she knows she is dying, and the goals of the booklet on suffering and death could be just as easily accomplished without distracting her. Amy did her writing in the blog piece you all read.

But, anyway, as I said, my pastoral instinct wants to guide and shepherd. So, I would guide and shepherd all of us who are part of our church family with these words: have you stopped long enough to reflect on your dying? Do you really look forward to seeing Jesus? Are you living life in the light of your mortality, convinced that to die is gain, but to live is Christ? If you are a parent, are you counting your kisses?