Gone Home

GONE HOME June 25, 2010

On May 25, 2010 Marj closed her last post with the following words to you, her friends; “Finally, know that I am in God's hands. It is all right with Lee and me if God chooses to take me this time. Just pray for God's will to be done. We do.” Nine days later, on June 3, 2010, God took her to Him. I am confident he told her, “well done good and faithful servant.”
This is Lee, her husband, writing this final letter to her friends. After a twelve hour surgery at City of Hope, Marj did not regain consciousness and passed quietly into His hands. One might say that the cancer won, but in truth God won, because she is with Him now.
On June 12 a memorial service was held at our church with over three hundred people attending. Even medical staff from the City of Hope drove the two hundred mile trek to honor her. Her life touched virtually hundreds of people. It was a fulfilling life, well lived. The service was a marvelous outpouring of love.
Marj told me once that she was alright with death as she knew where she was going. Her only regret was leaving her friends, her church and me. She chose this surgery and knew the risk. Without going into details, I can assure you that her condition had developed into a state that made major surgery necessary and her only reasonable alternative.
I miss her terribly, but want her writings to live on as a testimony to her life and to the love she had for Christ. Toward that end I will be making an effort to publish her work to serve more people than this blog might reach. I will continue to moniter and answer her e-mail for a while, but obviously will eventually close out her account. My e-mail address is: leeballen@aol.com