When Death Arrives, God Is There

By Estella D. Meruvia

Chapter Two of the book reads like a novel but it isn’t. It is a true story; a sad story. However, as you read, you will be touched deeply by its message of hope and endurance. You will be encouraged to help suffering humanity by putting into practice the author’s suggestions in Chapter Seven.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664279650

Estella D. Meruvia

Estella Meruvia es Asistente de Abogado, jubilada. Ella es miembro activo de la Iglesia Metodista de Wilshire y de las Mujeres Unidas en Fe, una organizacion mundial de mujeres, cuyo proposito es ayudar y apoyar programas para mujeres, niños y jovenes. Estella escribe artículos y devocionales para el boletín de su iglesia. Ella da clases bíblicas en Inglés y en Español. Estella vive con su esposo en Long Beach, California.

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Copyright © 2022 Estella D. Meruvia.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

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except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher

make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book

and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

The proceeds from the sale of this book will go to missions.

WestBow Press

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views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version® Copyright © 1982

by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7964-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7966-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7965-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022918168

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/26/2022

CONTENTS

Dedication and Acknowledgments

About the Book

Introduction

Chapter 1   My Testimony

Chapter 2   Life and Death

Chapter 3   The Agony of the Loss

Chapter 4   Scenes That Will Be Remembered Forever

Chapter 5   God’s Love amid the Agony of the Loss

Chapter 6   To the Relatives with Love

Chapter 7   How You Can Help

Chapter 8   From Mother with Love

Chapter 9   From His Friends with Love

Conclusion

A Special Invitation

DEDICATION AND

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book is dedicated to God Holy Spirit for comforting me during the most painful trial in my life, and for guiding, directing, and inspiring me to write this book.

This book is also dedicated to the memory of my beloved son, Victor, with my everlasting love.

My gratitude goes out to my family and church families who were there to comfort and console me during a most difficult and sad time in my life. There are too many names to mention, but when you read this book, you will know and remember how you were there for me and for my daughter, Bianca. Thank you. May God continue to bless you for all your good deeds.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Life is full of emotions and excitement. One way or another, we are prepared to face it, in spite of it all. Yet we all know that we are born, we develop, and some day, we will die.

However, when the death of a loved one arrives suddenly and unexpectedly, it can be a brutal blow to our well-being. As a result of it, many go into desperation, insanity, and, in some cases, death itself.

This is a true story. The author narrates her deepest feelings, some of which are heartrending. She also shares a different way of facing the agony of the loss of a very dear one, like a son—a young son.

As we read, we will discover how God’s love is real and can be felt through the acts of people who are dear to us, some known and some even unknown.

The message is freshly perfumed, as is God’s love. We are certain that after reading it, we will feel at ease and will understand things better.

We will find a soul mate who will remind us that when death arrives, God is there. We will have the strength to go on, in spite of the trials, in spite of it all.

—Dr. Rolando Meruvia-Salazar

INTRODUCTION

The Purpose of This Book is Fourfold

First, I want to share with you a large part of my testimony before becoming a Christian, and after accepting the Lord Jesus as my Savior and Lord. And I want to share the experience I lived through when my seventeen-year-old son died suddenly in a fatal automobile accident. I do this from a Christian perspective.

Second, the purpose is to use my testimony and the very painful experience I lived through when losing my son to try to help all who read it in their own lives when they experience the profound pain of losing a beloved son, daughter, or other close relative. Troubled marriages are also of much concern to me, as are teenagers as they face difficulty with their parents and society in general.

The experience was most devastating because my son and I had been separated for about ten months. His death occurred only twenty-five days before Victor’s much anticipated eighteenth birthday. Also, the fact that I had airplane tickets in my hand—as I had planned to travel to California (where my son lived at the time of this death) to be with him by December l7, l995—was the cruelest punishment a mother could get. This is how I originally interpreted his death. Victor died two weeks before our most needed reunion.

Third, my intention is to try to console bereaved families as they also experience their own agony over the loss of a dear son or daughter, or other close relative. I also intend to offer suggestions to people who wish to start ministering to close relatives or friends who are experiencing the death of a beloved relative.

Fourth, I believe the most important reason for writing this book is to reach non-Christians so that they, through the reading of this testimony, may contemplate and see for themselves the great need they have of the Savior of their souls, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is imperative that they make a decision for Christ, dedicate their life to Him, and start a new life with Him. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Why is this young man’s death so different that a book was written about it? People of all ages, races, colors, beliefs, and religions die every few minutes, or even seconds, in some part of the world. Alcoholism, drug addiction, AIDS, hunger, cancer, auto accidents, school shootings—to mention just a few causes—kill thousands of people every day, everywhere. There are also crime-related deaths, aborted children, and suicides, all of which have increased during the last two decades. I sincerely believe that the strongest reason why this death was different is because of the traumatic circumstances that surrounded my son’s death and how close it was to the time we were to be reunited after not seeing each other for ten months. The extreme guilt I felt for not being with my son when he needed me most was so devastating that I felt it urgent to speak out in a direct and honest way to all mothers and fathers about their relationship with their children. My hope is to try and spare mothers and fathers the pain that I have experienced because I did not raise my children as God instructs in the scriptures.

In an effort to appease my guilty feelings, I sought some way to plead with mothers and fathers to stand by teenagers, even when circumstances at home become intolerable with their conduct and their relationship with you as parents. I pleaded with God in prayer, asking Him to show me how this could be accomplished. This book is the result of those pleas and my many tears.

I do not believe that I gave up on my son. I rationalized my being separated from him by appealing to a few extenuating circumstances, but that would not remove