We
all have a boundary around our lives (Psalm 139:16). God formed us in our
mother's womb, sustained us through every event in our life, and walks with us
through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23).
On
this day, we will pass through the veil of death into the presence of God. When
we take our last breath of this earthly air, we take our next breath in the
celestial atmosphere of heaven.
Losing
a loved one is the most debilitating and devastating experience anyone can ever
go through. This grief extends beyond words and engulfs our body, soul and
spirit. Often we find no solace in our grief.
No
word of comfort, no gesture of concern and no card or flower can lighten our
burden of anguish. Grief is a natural process, which has no exact time frame
and is experienced in unique ways by different individuals.
Feeling
the pain of grieving is difficult, but it is an important step toward healing. When
viewed as loss, there is no solace in death. However, when viewed as our
Homecoming, we find comfort and even joy.
Death
is actually the doorway to our ultimate healing with no more sorrow or sickness.
Rather than focusing on our loss, we can focus on the time we had together, and
the person their love helped us to become.
We
find comfort in God's love and in His strength to continue on in our journey.
He has a special plan for our life that does not include our loved one. He will
reveal it to us one step at a time. He nurtures and comforts our heart and soul
as we look to Him one moment at a time.
Prayer:
Father
God, thank You for the time we shared with our loved one. Remind us that we
never need to stop loving the one that is no longer with us. The death of a
child through a miscarriage or illness is the hardest trial for us to bear, but
Your love comforts us in any loss. You will teach us to cherish our memories of
our loved one for the rest of our life, and they will enhance our future relationships
because of the love we shared.
When
some of our memories cause a stab of emotional or physical pain now and then,
remind us that these fleeting moments are a normal part of the grieving and
healing process, even when they happen on and off for years or never go away. Help
us to realize that it is important to allow our self to have these feelings
rather than to deny them, cover them up with busyness, or bury them deep in our
soul. Teach us to feel the sadness fully and then to let it go.
Thought
for the Day:
Loving
again can feel like disloyalty at first, especially when we think about
enjoying a life that does not include our loved one; however, this is far from
true, because our loved one would want us to live a full and happy life even
though they cannot be here to share it with us.
Ideas
to make the transition of loss less painful:
1. Make a keepsake box
full of treasured photos or mementos of our relationship with our deceased
loved one.
2. Visit a special place
we enjoyed together, and allow the joy of those good memories to wash over our
soul.
3. Set a special plate
for them on holidays and birthdays and chat with family and friends about good
memories.
4. Write our loved one a
letter, or visit their grave and tell them how we are feeling.
5. Allow our self to
cry, because tears wash away the grief. It is important to realize that we can
cherish a memory without getting trapped there.
6. Cherish the memories
without allowing our loss to control us; and find joy in our new experiences, as
we take comfort in the knowledge that we will keep our cherished memories with
us wherever we go, and whatever we do, and with whomever we do them.
7. Gain comfort and
courage from God's Word with verses such as:
·
Psalm
116:15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. NKJV
·
Psalm
48:14 For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to
death. NKJV
·
Proverbs
14:32 Even in death the righteous have a refuge. NIV
·
Ecclesiastes
7:1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than
the day of birth. TLB
·
Psalm
16:9-11 Heart, body, and soul are filled with joy. For you will not leave me
among the dead; you will not allow your beloved one to rot in the grave. You
will let me experience the joys of life and the exquisite pleasures of your own
eternal presence. TLB
·
2
Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from
the body, and to be present with the Lord. KJV
·
Luke
20:36 And they never die again; in these respects they are like angels, and are
sons of God, for they are raised up in new life from the dead. TLB
·
Luke
16:22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to
Abraham's bosom. KJV
