My Aunt, the alien.

"She's where she always wanted to be".
I offered my cousin this statement as I looked at my aunt lying in the casket that would the resting place for her body.
Visitations are always tough, I never know what to say and usually in my nervous condition I usually say something that I later regret saying.
In this case what I said was true, I had no doubt my aunt was where she always wanted to be.
How do I know?
My aunt was an alien.
I hadn't thought about it until the next day at the funeral, the pastor was sharing what God had laid on his heart and then he spoke the words that always make me cringe;
"If anyone would like to share something about Donna, we will give you an chance to do that."
I get a little nervous when funerals become open microphone situations. You never know what people are going to say. I thought this could become very interesting.
I saw a woman who I had never seen before make her way to the podium. She started by saying how she had moved into the community and how she had met Donna.
She shared that the first time she met Donna, my aunt stuck out her hand and with a smile said "do you know Jesus?"
I smiled because that was my aunt. I mean she was ALWAYS talking about Jesus. It didn't matter who she was talking to. It didn't matter that she battled epilepsy, lost a son in an accident, was diagnosed with cancer, the woman was ALWAYS talking about Jesus.
She would praise Him always, she was asking me to pray for her family every time she saw me, the woman was single minded.
The lady behind the podium shared that she to was a Christian and that she became good friends with my aunt.
It was her next sentence that would become etched in my mind.
"I think a lot of people misunderstood Donna, but that was because she had it right and we had it wrong, she truly lived as one that lived in this world but not of this world".
People did misunderstand her, I know I did. You have to understand the woman was ALWAYS talking about Jesus. Sometimes I wanted to say, Donna I get it, I'm a Christian, can we talk about something else? I never did of course, but I know I thought it as I'm sure other people did too.
As I thought about it she did have it right, and I don't think I ever realized it until that moment. I had a very special aunt, someone who wasn't afraid to talk about her savior to anybody. In the midst of the personal tragedy's in her life, she continued to live her life praising her Lord. Nothing was going to stop her, until her body finally gave out. I don't have a tenth of the courage she had, this little lady put this big guy to shame.
I have no doubt that Jesus spoke the words I know all of us want to hear, "well done good and faithful servant", when my aunt passed into eternity. She lived her life as an alien to this world because she didn't belong here. Her home was, now and forevermore Heaven.
I need to learn to live as an alien here, I need people to think I'm strange (I mean besides the obvious stuff) because I talk about my Lord ALWAYS. I need to live my life in way that makes me a foreigner on the mess called earth.
I had a great example all these years and didn't know it.
An alien named Donna.
Rest in the presence of Jesus my friend, I will see you again.