There’s no two ways about it: Death sucks. And death has visited our Catch community at least twice in the last few weeks.
Priscilla, our longtime MemberPartner from Rochester, New York, just recently moved into a new home, and before she could even adjust to the move, she lost her dear husband, Jack. Born November 9, 1933, he was a sports enthusiast, and coached basketball and soccer at Roberts Wesleyan College. Jack was Athletic Director there for 13 years, and in 1982, he was inducted into the RWC Hall of Fame. Priscilla thinks he’s the handsomest man in the world, and she may be right.
For four days during his rapid decline, Jack was in a bed in the hallway of the hospital because all the rooms were taken up with COVID patients. Imagine that. They finally got him into a room shortly before he died.
Now, Priscilla must adjust to a new home alone and also to being a widow. But Priscilla is tough. She’s already trying to work through the stages of grief and it’s only been a week. Death sucks, but you have to absorb it. You can’t push it aside, nor can you speed up the process. You have to go through it. Pray she makes it through.
Priscilla can’t go home right now. Empty walls echo too much. Fortunately, she has family nearby, and when she can’t stand the echo, she grabs a toothbrush and heads to her son’s house.
And then there’s our dear friend we call Siri, from Marin, California. Not sure where the name “Siri” came from, except it has something to do with Sir Isaac Newton, but we’re not sure where that came from either. Siri was a character. He wrote us often and even when he was struggling with cancer, he would send us prayer requests for his friends and neighbors, including those in hospital beds next to his. He never told us much about his condition, but he kept our prayer warriors busy with everyone else’s problems. That’s just the way he was. He loved God and always talked about being taken care of by Dr. Jesus.
His brother, Peter, is the one who let us know Siri had passed, and thanked everyone who kept in touch with him. Siri loved his Catch friends.
Yes, death sucks, but death is not the last word. Death is only a doorway, a passageway, a portal to eternity with Jesus. The loss is real; the separation is deep, but only temporary; the reunion is forever.
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:55
John Fischer The Catch 
One thing I’ve learned as I’ve grown older is that the longer you’ve been around, the more likely you are to have known a lot of people who have passed on before you. The second thing I’ve learned is how it never gets easier. You’ve been through this before and you know the story. It’s not a permanent goodbye, but a temporary separation. Still, it’s hard to adjust to the “new normal” of someone not being there anymore.
When Dr. Jesus was on earth, he understood loss form this side of eternity. He holds the keys to Death and Hades and can unlock someone out of death at will anytime! He even proved this when He walked the earth. Still, He felt loss. People may ask why did Jesus cry when He knew He would raise Lazarus, but the other question is why bother raising Lazarus when he would just die again later. God has His reasons for both. It’s hard to have faith when we don’t understand all of God’s reasons especially when someone dies young.
Putting aside all the answers we don’t have, for Jack and Siri, here is the famous two-word verse: “Jesus wept”
Amen brother John and I once learned that is the shortest verse in the Bible, bot man oh man does it say sooo much!
Absolutely loved reading Today’s Catch & RIP my dear Catch buddy Priscilla’s husband & Siri!
and great verse to end the Catch on too, Pastor John!
PS Quick story about that verse: ““O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
1 Corinthians 15:55 I was a new believer in the 1980′ & this dear ol’ Deacon @ the Church I became a follower of the Lord let me read a bunch of this little handbooks from the Radio Bible Class, the Dehan’s (sp?) and I can sooo easily remember this on day while sitting in a collision damaged car I was working on @ this Ford New Car Dealership Autobody repair shop & this one handbook was on that verse and I can remember being so moved by it, that I sat in the car for so long!!! I was and am so grateful for what Jesus did for me! Amen & praise the Lord!
Always sad when we each lose a loved one but, as the old saying “The Best is Yet To Come,” speaks to each of us when we know we will spend eternity with our Lord and Savior. Doesn’t get any better and especially when we join the loved ones.
I will try again.