His Empty Chair
There I sat, in the very place it happened. The room where my husband was ushered into eternity. The snacks I had packed for him that very week were still sitting on his desk. My plan was to come and decorate his office after the fresh paint was applied that week. His suit jacket hung on the back of his chair where he would sit and text me throughout the day. I remembered telling him how handsome he looked in his suit earlier the morning it all happened. His calendar was set on the desk with each day crossed off but that day in September. On the desk was his favorite pen, the pen he used daily to passionately and effectively accomplish what he felt his calling was at the Agency. I saw his beautiful handwriting on notes and papers everywhere. Everything was in impeccable order and his organizational skills were displayed throughout, which was such an attractive characteristic I found in my Patrick. This very office where my husband was alive and thriving a month ago saw my precious husband take his last breath.
I anticipated many tears, great emotion, and sadness, but instead, all I could think about was how amazing it would have been to observe what occurred in that office that day. To see the host of angels surrounding my dear husband and to watch him leave his earthly body behind and his spirit enter the presence of the Lord. Oh, that room would never be the same. If walls had souls, they would have been forever changed by the eternal view witnessed. The Spirit flooded that room on that rainy morning and took my precious beloved home forever. What a sight, what a treasure, what a gift to be home with Jesus!
As I sat in his chair, wishing I was sitting on the lap of the man who had stolen my heart, I looked down to the place where he was found, reliving it all in my mind……again. Missing everything about him, how handsome he looked, how he smelled, his kind voice, his cute wit and laughter, his strong tender embrace, feeling his sweet kisses, and missing the part of my heart that died with him on September 29th, 2015. I thanked the Lord for the gift of perspective, for the promise of eternity, and for the treasure of knowing this amazing man of God in the closest human relationship possible. I was given an extraordinary gift! Realizing this place was where my sweet husband left his earthly body and began to really live, forever in the presence of our Savior.
Patrick left his earthly body that day in that office, but his spirit is more alive than ever. Eternal life is real, Jesus is alive. Visiting Patrick’s empty office and viewing things from his empty chair offered a glimpse of eternity that I will never forget.