DEATH, PREPARATION FOR

Many people sleep under an electric blanket during winter. The only problem with this wonderful invention is that it is too good at what it does. That is, an electric blanket makes a bed so warm and comfortable that on cold mornings it is very hard to get up. Some people have found that the only thing that works for them is to turn off their electric blanket so that the bed becomes much less comfortable and thus it is easier to leave their cozy spot. Perhaps God lets us deteriorate physically in our late years so that we will be more willing to leave our ailing bodies for the unexplored future that he sets before us.301

When Corrie ten Boom was a girl, her first realization of death came after a visit to the home of a neighbor who had died. It impressed her that someday her parents would die. Corrie’s father comforted her. “Corrie, when you and I go to Amsterdam, when do I give you your ticket?” he asked.

Corrie answered, “Why, just before we get on the train.”

“Exactly,” responded her father, “and our wise Father in heaven knows exactly when we’re going to need things too. Don’t run out ahead of him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need—just in time.”302