We believe, by faith not sight, that the Lord was with Gabe through that perilous final journey as he passed through water and fire. We believe, by faith not sight, that when Jesus called his name and said, “you are mine,” Gabe gladly came. And we also believe that it was our privilege to be Gabe’s family. That God choose each one of us from before time began to be with Gabe through all the health ups and downs of his life and then, finally, to be with him as he passed through the river of death to life eternal.

Six years ago, our son Gabe went to the hospital in the middle of the night for the last time. Cancer had overtaken his body, but we hoped and prayed he would have more time with us. As we waited for the ambulance, I read Psalm 121 to him. It starts with a question (and we had a lot of them), “I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from?” and the answer, “My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth . . . . the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Psalm 121 is for travelers, meant to be read and sung on the way.

We sat with Gabe in the ER and, as his wife signed paperwork, we went with him to the ICU. In the elevator, he looked at me and I said, “We are going to take you home Gabe.” I meant our house where he and his wife were staying, but instead he was on the final lap of his journey to his heavenly Father’s house. Within an hour he lapsed into a coma that he would not wake from until he was with Jesus.

There will be Grace

Those of us who have faced the possibility that their child might die before them, know that it’s like staring into a black hole of incomprehensible darkness. How would you survive such a terrible event? Why would you even want to survive? My prayer journals from that summer are filled with questions for God: How can you ask this of Gabe? His wife? His family? How can we walk with them when our own steps are failing?

We had questions, the Lord gave no answers, but he did give grace. He gave us his help for what we came to call, “the sacred journey”—the journey from life here on earth, through death, to life eternal. If you remember Pilgrim’s Progress, the main character Christian, at the end of his journey to the Celestial City, must walk through the cold, dark river of death.

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