Staying Ready: Living with Faith and Hope Beyond Death

“I’s not getting ready, I’s staying ready!”

With Halloween just behind us, being the ripe old age of eighty-three, and the approaching anniversary of our daughter’s death on November 24, 2021, I have been thinking about death more than usual lately.

Over twenty-five years ago, I attended a day-long women’s conference, and I distinctly remember the last speaker. She was a remarkable woman whose presentation was absolutely wonderful!

At the end, she looked out at the audience of hundreds of women and said:

“You ladies have heard a lot today, and the main thing I want you to take home with you is my mantra, which is, ‘I’s not getting ready, I’s staying ready.’”

Ever since hearing her speak, that mantra has come to mind more times than I can count.

Living with Faith Instead of Fear

I hope and pray that my family, friends, associates, and even people I don’t know will come to embrace the reality of death.

That might sound rather creepy, especially with Halloween just behind us!

But what if, rather than avoiding the subject, we took time to consider what Jesus tells us about it?

Jesus said to Martha in John 11:25–26:

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Do we believe this?

And if we do, how does our belief influence the way we live today, tomorrow, and for the rest of our lives?

A quote attributed to Blessed Fulton Sheen comes to mind