A' demain to a Very Dear Friend

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself" (Philippians 3:20-21)

The French phrase a' demain is one that came tumbling out of my distant past recently, beloved, and for a very good reason.  I thought of it in response to the sad news that a very dear friend and sister in Christ went home to be with the Lord in the early hours of this morning.  This French expression, if my recollection from high school classes is reliable, can be simply translated "until tomorrow."  It is not the "goodbye" of those who seldom see each other or expect not to see each other again in this life, yet it is not the casual "see you later" of the good and close friend who will likely bump into you again tomorrow.

A' demain is a wonderful expression because it looks to a certain future, to a coming moment in time when you know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you are going to see your friend again.  Barbara has now joined in eternity her husband who preceded her by a number of years.  Now they are together enjoying the company of their blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  It was my distinct and great privilege to be both their pastor and their friend.  And that friendship has endured the separation of time and distance.

So why would I choose to simply say to Barbara and to Don a' demain?  Because I know, beloved, that "tomorrow" is coming!  Not man's uncertain tomorrow worked out on a human timetable and fraught with the frailty of human uncertainty, but rather in that certain "tomorrow" that is God's promise to each one who truly knows Him personally through faith in Jesus Christ.  Sadly I will not be able to make it to what will certainly be a glorious graveside celebration by family and friends of Barbara's home-going.  But this one thing I know - I will see her again as surely as I know that I will see my Savior face to face.

To her family, then, from someone whose life you blessed for many years in ways that I simply cannot measure, deepest condolences from both Bev and me as we are saddened by news of her passing.  And to Barbara, safe in the arms of Jesus, I say only a' demain.  God's "tomorrow" is on the way!

Ron