Late in the evening of Saturday 16th, I received news that my sister-in-law, my younger brother’s wife, had passed on and gone to be with the Lord. Death has a power that defies normalcy, and I am still reeling at the news. Joyce was more than a sister-in-law to me; she was just as one of my sisters. Her face was pasted with a permanent smile, and I cannot imagine not seeing that again; nor her deep, infectious laughter. It is these two that I shall miss especially.
But the Bible is filled with spiritual comfort at every turn, and in 1 Thes. 4:13-14, the Apostle Paul gives us reason to rejoice even in death, for he writes, by the Word of the Lord:
“13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”
I am therefore filled with much comfort, even as the whys and the hows assail me. The most important thing is that she died in the Lord and that, if I also live with the Lord, I shall one day see her in the only place that matters – HEAVEN.
The passing away of a saint is, indeed, a grand passing.
[Joyce Paul]
Cross of Christ 
This is so sad, Pastor. May the Lord comfort your family as only He can do.
Thank you beloved sister. Yes, indeed, God’s comfort upon us is above any grief that death can bring.
I (we) pray for you and your whole family (and hers). Nothing else can be said…
Peace
Thank you so much. May God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.