So Many Funerals

Saturday, August 12, 2017

This may seem a little random, but today's post is about coping with the loss of those who have breathed their last breath here on earth. 

One of my friends at work just said goodbye to her grandmother. 

Lizzie's roommate from last year just lost her grandmother. 

Lizzie's friend from high school unexpectedly lost two friends last week due to a car wreck. 

We have countless friends throughout our lifetimes who have passed away. 

Bill has lost both of his parents and all his aunts and uncles. 

I've lost my parents and most of my aunts and uncles. 

Lizzie has lost her birth father. 

So what do we do with death? How do we cope with the agonizing loss of a parent, a sibling, a child -- someone particularly close to us? I guess we all deal with death differently and I'm not sure there's a right or a wrong way to do it. But life is full of death so deal with it we must. 

The first year is, in many ways, the hardest as we walk through days of particular importance: birthdays, holidays, etc. Unexpected moments of longing consume us. Memories flood our hearts with warmth. Difficult days of painstaking housekeeping tasks cloud our vision. But we must remember that our loved one wouldn't want us to get lost in the tears and sorrow. They would want us to remember them and to live. 

I don't know how the unbeliever does it. For it is only by the strength of my Lord and Savior that I can face each day and live my life victoriously. He gives me hope. He gives me peace. He gives me comfort in knowing that He is taking care of His children -- those on earth and those with Him in heaven. He gives me the ability to hold my head up and focus on Him. By training my eyes on the Lord I find that I don't sink into the raging waters of grief arounding my feet. Instead He holds me close. And I live. 

So I take a deep breath and steady my eyes on Him. I celebrate everything I can about those who now are with Him. And I know that one day I will be with Him, too.