Sue Thomas Ministries

Tag: heaven

  • Are You Any Earthly Good?

    Are You Any Earthly Good?

    If I had not experienced firsthand the action-packed intensity of those traveling years with Sue Thomas, I would be an entirely different person than I am today. She had a contagious exuberance and joy of living that has left a lasting impression on me.

    Most people only saw her energy and the passion she had to encourage others. She never said “no” to an open door. Many times we would be in California or New Mexico one day, and then take a ‘red-eye’ midnight flight through four time zones in order to be at another event in Boston or Washington DC the next day.

    “The stress of traveling like this can’t be good for your MS…” I would cautiously begin.

    “It’s not stressful. It’s fun!” Sue would retort with a grin. I quickly discovered I had joined forces with a real Energizer Bunny.

    Those early years traveling with Sue were nothing short of a whirlwind. Often the clothes would go from the suitcase straight into the washing machine and right back into the suitcase.

    What the world did not see was Sue’s other constant traveling companion… the extreme fatigue and electrical jolting pain from her MS. Or the episodes of blindness from inflammation of the optic nerve.

    As her nurse, I developed an eye for those little cues that told me she was “crashing” long before she came down from the platform. I could see her faltering…yet somehow she would find a second wind to finish her speech, close the session by summoning enough strength to sing her signature song, Silent Night, and then buzz to the book table, where she would meet people, hear their stories, and offer even more words of encouragement.

    She would finally retreat to the privacy of the hotel room and collapse on the bed. As time went on and her MS progressed, it would take several days for her to recuperate well enough to travel home.

    Facing those odds, my own natural inclination would have been to give up and sit down, but not Sue! With dogged determination she plowed forward even through the thickest of afflictions.

    She loved to encourage herself with those verses in 2nd Corinthians 1:3-5.

    “My Father is the God of all comfort, who comforts me in all my afflictions, so that I can comfort those afflicted with the comfort I myself receive from God.”

    Our feet are so grounded in this world… until we realize the road ahead is all uphill and full of rocks. Our body aches with the effort. Our heels become bruised. It’s when we face struggles and afflictions on our journey that Life quickly becomes Real.

    Maybe you’ve heard this slightly sarcastic statement. “ I don’t want to be so heavenly minded, that I’m no earthly good.”

    Watching Sue, I concluded the very opposite. The more Heavenly Minded we are, the more Earthly Good we’re going to be!

    Instead of going through the day in a frantic frenzy, we have a deeper understanding of the purpose of this Life.

    “Thank God! He has made us His captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession.

    Now He uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.

    Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God!” 2 Corinthians 2:14-15

    A. W. Tozer made this astute observation. “People are more concerned with Earth
    than with Heaven.

    They would rather “do something”, than to commune with God.”

    In Tozer’s era there was a strong emphasis on keeping busy with Christian activities and duties, and the end result often was neglected Alone Time with God.

    In our modern age we sometimes find ourselves in the opposite ditch where we’ve drifted into a more self absorbed perspective. “Be all you can be. You deserve God’s best. Do what feels good. God wants you to be happy no matter what. Live your truth.”

    Or it’s all about the Selfie, where we can recreate ourselves into our Own Perfect Image or viral video to get likes. (When did “like” become a noun, anyway?)

    Talking about Heaven just seems so out of this world.

    But none of that other stuff reflects Reality. It’s temporary and empty. It lasts for a moment and then the fame fizzles.

    Tozer continues:

    “The average Christian feels a lot nearer to this world
    than the World Above…

    It is to our lasting reproach that we cannot live full well-rounded and symmetrical lives, embodying in our redeemed personalities both the practical service of Martha and the adoring vision of Mary.” A W Tozer

    When we spend time with Jesus it takes the focus off of us.

    With our eyes ever looking upward into our Father’s eyes, and with hearts awake to Eternity, we will become completely immersed in what He has given us to do on this Earth.

    Sue Thomas was a good example of that. She delighted in pouring her Life into what God wanted her to do.

    You see, He has redeemed both body and soul so that we can live a life that is
    well-rounded and symmetrical.
    Balanced on both sides.

    Acutely Aware
    of both
    Here and There.

    Or like Psalm 116 says,

    “I walk in the Lord’s Presence while Here on Earth.”

    If we walk through each day with an ever increasing awareness
    that He sees us,
    surrounds us,
    and sings over us,

    Then, because His Presence is Near,

    when we go through those times of being
    too tired,
    too sick,
    too worn out,
    and just can’t take another step,

    He picks us up and carries us… just like that old Footprints poem.

    Did You abandon me, Lord? Why is there only one set of blood-stained footprints?

    ” No, those footprint impressions are Mine. You see, I have been carrying you.”

  • Stepping On Shore

    Stepping On Shore

    Such a meaningful song! Have you ever heard it?

    I love songs about Heaven even more since people that I love have left Here to go There.

    Some of you have shared that you’ve recently lost your mother, or your dad, or a sister or a very dear friend. It changes your perspective, doesn’t it? Your entire purpose and meaning of life gets rattled but in time you will find more clarity. So hang on. It will get better!

    I lost my own Dad almost 18 years ago. He was a pastor, and a pillar in the family. He had an energy for living that was similar to Sue’s. He dreamed of big things, and yet found contentment and joy in little things. Even a terminal diagnosis did not rob him of that enthusiasm.

    I vividly remember being at my sister’s with Daddy. He was sitting on the couch watching his little grandchildren playing. They were happily oblivious to the glistening moisture in his eyes. Tears were betraying the ache in his heart because deep inside he knew he would not be there for them as they grew up.

    But even as leukemia was eating his energy those final weeks, he continued to write “to do lists” of people he wanted to call, and projects he wanted to complete.

    For a long time whenever I found one of those scraps of paper with his daily goals and plans for the future, my own tears burned at the realization that his life had been cut short leaving unfulfilled business still hanging around.

    But now when I look back I see in the bigger picture that the enthusiasm and longing for living that God had given him is being satisfied this very moment in Eternal Life!

    I can see that same thing in the life of Sue. Her hopes and plans and dreams were just a foretaste of what was to come.

    For those who love Jesus, this life is only meant to be the appetizer before the main meal. It is meant to wake up our senses and tickle our taste buds, and make us hungry for heaven.

    And with that perspective, I can see Sue, who increasingly struggled with walking, confidently striding up, stepping on shore and finding it heaven…

    Who was losing her sense of touch and feeling in her hands and feet, to reaching out and touching a hand. The thrill that must have gone through her to realize it was the hand of Jesus!

    And, with her struggles to breathe, due to her MS, stage 4 lung cancer, and then COVID, and her reliance on a non-invasive ventilator for deep breathing, taking her final breath here, then with her next breath taking in new air and finding it celestial! Ah, how sweet must be the air of heaven!

    Heaven.. our Eternal Home.

    Oh! That will be glory for me!
    When by His grace I shall look on His face,
    That will be glory…be glory for me!

  • Hungry for Heaven

    Hungry for Heaven

    When Sue was preparing to leave this Earth last December, I remember holding her hand tightly and saying to her, “You’re going to Heaven to see Jesus. Wait for me, because I’m coming and I want you to show me all around!”

    Even though a whole year will soon have passed, sometimes, usually without warning, the loss hits me, and my heart physically hurts while my stomach rolls into twisted knots.

    Sue had a huge personality, and her leaving ripped a huge hole. That hole will always be there, but I’m learning the edges of the pain soften with the passing of time.

    Over the past year I’ve done an awful lot of thinking about Eternity and Heaven.

    Joni Earickson Tada, in her book on Heaven, spoke of the soul being hungry for heaven. I like that. I have that hunger. But it’s not an empty sentimental hunger for what once was.

    I can’t only look back. Memories are good but they do not hold Life.

    Having a hunger for Heaven is looking forward. It is an ache for what is to come!

    I’m a firm believer that when we get to Heaven our family and friends that loved Jesus here on earth, will meet us and we will pick up right where we left off in our relationships. They have only crossed a threshold into Eternity and are continuing to live.

    For those of us who love Jesus, thinking of Eternity gives purpose and focus to living. The dynamics of having the gift of Eternal Life ripple with energizing motivation.

    For example, ponder these words by Randy Alcorn, “When we enter Heaven we will presumably begin with the knowledge that we had at death. God may enhance our knowledge and correct countless wrong perceptions. I imagine He’ll reveal many new things to us and then set us on a course of continual learning like that of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Perhaps angels or loved ones already gone to heaven will be assigned to tutor us.”

    We’re not told in the Word of God that we’re going to be omniscient or know everything right from the start. Only God knows everything!

    We’re going to continue experiencing and learning all there is to know about life and The Giver of Life. There.

    But it starts here.

    On this Earth.

    As an Earthling.

    With this Gift called Life.

    This is the time and place to discover all the things He wants to show us and to grow our love for Him.

    Here.

    Now.

    For God so loved…that He gave His only begotten Son… whosoever believes on Him will not perish, but HAVE Eternal Life.

    On that day when I step over that threshold into Eternity, into that life to come, I want to have no regrets. I want only to be reaching out and reaching up, looking for Jesus, the author and the finisher of my faith.

    And somewhere close to Jesus, will be Sue Thomas.