Death Benefits
Patsy Kuipers, Guest Writer
TODAY’S TREASURE
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3).
I’ve been known to gasp over a post-Christmas credit card bill or cringe when writing my annual property tax check, but this may have been a first – tears filled my eyes as I gazed at a deposit to my account. The deposit was present because my husband no longer is.
After dealing with the aftermath of Ray’s sudden death – notifying family and friends, planning and attending the services – grief clouded my thinking and slowed my body. Not yet able to fully grasp the finality of the situation, I moved through my days moment-by-moment, piecing thoughts and decisions together, struggling to complete a puzzle missing an essential piece.
My parents’ presence not only comforted me, but their clearer minds filled in some of the gaps in my own thinking. And so, some 10 days after Ray’s passing, at my dad’s urging, we made our way to the Social Security office. I recorded the following in my journal:
“Gathered things to take to meeting with Social Security after I took Mary and Jessie to school – marriage license, passports, M&J’s birth certificates – happy bits of my life, now gathered for a very unhappy purpose.”
Nonetheless, thankfulness and relief washed over me when I heard my minor daughters qualified to receive monthly benefits, based on their dad’s earnings, until their 18th birthday. I received a small, one-time widow’s stipend along with the news I would be eligible to collect Ray’s benefits when I reached age 60, at least if I hadn’t remarried by then. Remarrying seemed highly improbable. Like a swan, I felt I mated once, for life. Regardless, my 60th birthday loomed 22 years in the future, a distant speck on a 21st-century calendar.
I dedicated myself to raising my daughters, completed a 30-year career at a large corporation, went back to school to study horticulture, and became “Grammie” to three precious little ones. All the while, the calendar pages kept turning with increasing velocity until that distant speck became an entry, “me – 60!!” Once again, I gathered important documents and made my way to the Social Security office. Thoughts of the former trip accompanied me, as did so many similar emotions, which became barely-contained tears as I resolutely recounted my story to the kind agent who entered my claim.
Several months later, on the promised date, the first deposit appeared, eliciting the aforementioned tears. Ray’s benefits, based on his years of diligent work, were credited to my account.
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
He is Risen!
As usual, that glorious truth entered my mind as soon as I awoke Easter morning in 2019. It appeared all creation joined in the celebration, as brilliant sunlight illuminated the spring-green of new leaves and birds twittered happily among the tree branches. The 2019 calculation placed what I’ve long deemed the best day of the entire year, almost in the middle of my annual remembrance of my husband’s sudden death in 1997. I intentionally recall the events of the last week I spent with Ray and the first one I spent without him.
Later that morning, my heart feasted on the message of hope proclaimed by our pastor. I dabbed at occasional tears, and some shed in sorrow for a husband gone much too soon, others borne of gratitude for the life-giving sacrifice of our Lord and Savior.
Jesus’ sinless life, atoning death, and subsequent resurrection guarantee numerous benefits for those who belong to Him: peace with God; the forgiveness of sins; God’s abiding presence now and forever; an eternal home; an imperishable body; a secure inheritance.
I’m grateful to receive Ray’s Social Security payments. They remind me of his love and care while he was with me. But each month, when I see that deposit on my statement, it will also remind me of the One who is my ultimate and eternal Provider, who didn’t spare His only Son but gave Him up for us all to secure death benefits of the most enduring kind.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Patsy Kuipers often refers to herself as “Gardening Grammie”, a title that encompasses two of her favorite pastimes. Widowed at age 38, she was blessed to be gainfully employed all the years she spent raising two daughters on her own. When her job was eliminated several years ago, she returned to school to study horticulture, a passion born of caring for the garden her husband left as part of his legacy. Patsy is Grammie to three small but enthusiastic garden helpers. She enjoys teaching them about plants and the One who created them. Patsy started her blog, Back 2 the Garden (patsykuipers.com), to tell others of God’s great love and faithfulness. She is a member of Grace Covenant Church in Dallas, GA where she serves on the Women’s Ministry Committee and leads women’s Bible studies.
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Originally published Friday, 19 August 2022.
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