Good Grief

 

Van Gogh's "Sorrowing Old Man (At Eternity's Gate)

"What we have once enjoyed, we can never lose.  All that we love deeply becomes part of us." ~ Helen Keller

I laughed today when I saw a bowl of M & M candy at the welcome table of a funeral.  The wonderful man that had passed away loved them.  My husband wanted to wear a bolo tie to the funeral because this man always used to wear them as he was a constant greeter at church & made everyone feel welcome every Sunday.  That made me smile too. 

My dad discovered Toys Are Us back in the 90s and used to take my 5 year old son there to get 'whatever he wanted' from the Lego aisle.  We have tons of Legos, along with the Barney video of the month club he also enrolled in for my kids.  He's been gone 24 years but It still makes me laugh because it brought him so much joy.

My even tempered uncle startled family members and Bronco fans alike because he used to get so intensely passionate at the Bronco games when they played poorly & so excited when they did well. He had season tickets. It's funny now🤣. 

When my sweet father-in-law was spending his last hours on earth, the family surrounded his bedside and sang hymns he had loved his whole life.  I have no doubt it brought him an enormous amount of comfort, since he loved singing, praising God & had an amazing voice.  He was known to break out into song wherever and whenever.  That, too, makes me smile (& also wish I could sing).  

People come in and out of our lives and can leave something with us that affects us deeply - commitment to serving others, prioritizing time with grandchildren & thoroughly enjoying them, being passionate about something, finding ways to worship God through song...what do you want to be remembered for?

It truly leaves a void when those we love pass on; a hole in our heart that opens and shuts at different times, and sometimes for no apparent reason.  

But for someone to affect us that way, to me means they have been loved well.  And they loved others well, in a way that hurts our heart that they are gone.  That's grief. 

When there is something you want to take away from their lives so that you can live your life better, and more meaningful- that's good grief.  

Boy, don't you miss Jesus!  We only have accounts of His life, but don't you wish He was right here with us calming our storms, healing our sicknesses, keeping others from throwing stones at us?  Couldn't He just come back and raise our dead, feed us nonstop bread & fish, and tell us to our face our sins have been forgiven?

At the last Supper, He broke bread & shared wine with His disciples, instructing them to do the same "in remembrance" of Him.  Jesus wanted us to introduce into our lives the memory of what He lived His life for - 

"I am the way, and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me." 

~John 14:6

When we incorporate into our lives something to honor who we have shared our life with here on earth, let's also incorporate what Jesus did and honor Him - He was compassion, forgiveness, servanthood, love, passion, commitment & praise & gratitude for our Heavenly Father. 
 

✙ Dear Father in Heaven, we come to You as Your children who have gratitude for people You've placed in our lives.  They have made us better for having been around them, as they reflect Your Goodness.  Make us mindful of asking the Holy Spirit for those qualities, knowing You withhold no good thing to those who do what is right. Help us make the most of our days down here.  Thank You that You have called Your saints into Your blissful eternal home, where they are missed & cherished.  We are grateful for the time we had. Amen.