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As I sit here writing this my emotions have had an up and down couple of weeks due to the sad news of another beautiful Australian singer who died after battling cancer for many years. Only a few weeks ago we learnt of the death of Judith Durham (79) from the group "The Seekers" who sang "Hey There Georgy Girl" which is just one of their songs that is instantly recognisable around the globe. https://g.co/kgs/iVqKNi Without hardly any time at all to catch our breath from this sadness, we then hear of Dame Olivia Newton-John, the quintessential "girl-next-door" who became famous back in the 1960s with her melodious voice singing songs like "If not for you", which was her first worldwide hit, and "I honestly love you" among many others, then rose to mega stardom after playing the lead role in the 1978 movie Grease, followed by Xanadu in 1981 when she danced with Gene Kelly. Since her death one interview revealed that she was noted to be pitch perfect, incredibly by the age of 2. So many sweet memories will be treasured of watching this talented girl mature from a teenager to a young lady while we were growing up. Here is a link to a small collection of her musical work: https://youtu.be/1roXlllfYNw
Olivia was exactly 10 years older than me and besides being blonde, the other thing we had in common was that both our mothers shared the same Christian or first name of Irene, and were born in Europe. While Olivia was dying slowly over the last year or so it felt like the news of her death was very sudden and seemed to really impact me with grief and sadness for we did not know that the cancer had returned. Listening to her incredibly talented gift of voice over the last few days tears were shed because I really liked her — as all who knew her said that she was a class act, never complained, always asking about others with a smile on her fresh beautiful face, sincerely genuine in her interest and care, dignified, and worked tirelessly to improve conditions for those suffering from cancer. Cancer was widespread and hereditary in her family — father died from liver cancer, sister died from brain cancer, and Olivia had breast cancer which spread eventually to her right shoulder, lower back and groin area. As they say, one cannot escape their genetics and while this is true, as I know full well because my mother died from uterine cancer, it is appointed for all to die once as Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 informs us and our Creator who created Olivia was ready to take her on Monday 8th August 2022.
Here in Australia Olivia was a big deal and also around the world as everyone loved her, being an excellent ambassador for our country. Born in England, she lived her early life in Australia from age 6, back to England to launch her career after winning a contest with the prize being a trip to London, then off to the USA where she predominantly lived for the remainder of her 73 years. This coming September 26th would have given her 74 years of such a wonderful life packed full of achievements. Why am I so sad trying to shake off this sadness? Despite never meeting her it was that the news was sudden and she represented a special time growing up in Melbourne where I also grew up. Like Olivia I was born in one place but then at an early age moved to Melbourne as her family did. That time I do remember well as long term memory is often intact as we age in comparison to short term memory which is the first to fade. It feels like all the good people are dying and things will never be the same again. Mourning times past is such a human thing to do as we want to keep the good times always. Yet we know that many will die and are dying all around us before things will get better after Jesus Christ returns to usher in the Kingdom of God which means eternal life.
In my humble opinion both Olivia and Judith will be easy people to teach in God's Kingdom as they were very much into knowing how to treat others well with kindness and love as part of the Golden Rule. Olivia had her piece of paradise, her Xanadu here in Australia on the coast by the beach in Byron Bay, Northern New South Wales, and also her American ranch in Southern California where the hilly backdrop reminded her of the Dandenong Ranges of Melbourne, Victoria. For those who don't know, Xanadu means "an idealized place of great or idyllic magnificence and beauty, exotic, luxurious, even perfection" according to online dictionaries and this is what the New Jerusalem will be like as we can read from Revelation 21:9-25. Even as beautiful as parts of Australia and America are, they will pale in perfection by comparison to the New Jerusalem as there will be no more death and nothing that is sinful or against God will be within its walls and gates.
While I have been very sad, there is something I am very grateful for, which is that Judith and Olivia are now at rest, free from pain, and are spared the time of great tribulation which will soon come upon the whole world (Matthew 24). There is a silver lining in all this for we know that all must die once (Hebrews 9:27) but there will be life again when God resurrects everyone in their time. While not having the opportunity to meet both Judith and Olivia in this lifetime, there will be a future time when we will meet after I follow in death to be also resurrected when God decides. Death will be like a deep sleep where we know nothing, and for some like Judith and Olivia, at least one thousand years will pass, while for others it will be many thousands of years, like the Queen of Sheba (Luke 11:31), before they will be awakened for the chance at eternal life. Imagine that it will be like going to sleep, lights out, and our next waking moment will be when God wakes us up — it will feel like no time has passed at all. God tells us in Psalm 90:10 how long He gives to us for life on earth — 70 or 80 years which is what we can achieve and both Olivia and Judith reached at least 70 years which is the standard set by our Creator. While they have lived their lives and are at rest, we continue on faithfully until God decides when He is ready to take us too. Death is bittersweet to those who understand what happens afterwards. On the one hand we still deeply desire our loved ones to continue on in life as we miss them terribly, yet we want them at peace, free from suffering and the effects of cancer. I did not get to say goodbye to my mum which has been very hard for me since I was just a teenager, yet am thankful Olivia got to say goodbye to her mum by singing "I honestly love you". Family were able to say goodbye to Olivia on that Monday morning in person and over the phone from Australia with the technology that was not around in 1974 when mum breathed her last. When our loved ones live again it will be so overwhelmingly and incredibly wonderful to see them whole, healthy, and full of life.
The example set by Olivia has struck a deep chord with me to be a better person, more loving, more giving, and reminding me that my loved ones will live again, therefore there is no time to waste in preparing for God's Kingdom when we look to be firstfruits helping those God gives to us for learning His ways and how we should teach them to worship our Creator. We so want to be there for our family, friends, and others we knew in this temporary life which spurs us on when the times are increasingly becoming tougher and darker, for we know God allows this and it must be so. Temporary trials, sadness, and character building while we show God our faith in humble obedience. We need to be ready, so let us be about our Father's business and live this temporary life to the full, much like Olivia did in the things that matter the most yet without the famous part, but with the added knowledge of what will await us after death. She said that she wanted to leave this place better than she found it and her legacy lives on through the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Institute in Melbourne. For more information on what happens after you die, you may like to check out the link below to discover the real facts: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/what-happens-after-death