"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever." Revelation 22:1-5
Recently, I learned about the loss of a young person who touched two families. One was a high school classmate and the other was a friend I met in college through Campus Crusade for Christ.
Two families touched by tragedy by the loss of a young person no one thought would die.
I remember thinking after we adopted our two children how awesome life is. I thought that as long as I follow Jesus, took my family to church, got involved in bible study that nothing harmful would ever happen to my family. I believed that life would continue on the same trajectory where at a certain ripe old age my life would cease thereby passing the baton to my children who now continue life's path.
I never in my right mind ever envision one of my kids dying before me. Never in my right mind did I ever envision having to ever having to deal with my own grief while trying to help my surviving child recover from their own pain.
It was the sudden loss in my life that brought my faith into focus.
Until that loss I was one of those who thought that 'life was awesome'. Life still is awesome, but when we lose a young person or any person for that matter God brings the picture of heaven into proper focus. Whereas, that picture was fuzzy, out of focus before the loss I clearly began to see the realities of heaven after my loss. Whatever tragedy occurs in this life that claims a member of your family I learned that Jesus is there to help pick up those pieces and recover.
The same Jesus that brought your loved one home with the uttered words 'well done my faithful servant' is the same Jesus who weeps with you after the loss.
Many months following our loss I was lamenting over the 'what if's' What if.I had just done this my child would still be alive? After one of my lamenting sessions my son saying to me " Dad, do you think Maria would want to come back after experiencing every thing she had experienced in heaven? I pondered that thought for a moment and concluded that it would make no sense wishing her return with all she had experienced in heaven.
That assurance doesn't take the pain of our grief away, but it assures me that my Savior, Jesus Christ, the one who died for me and the one that I made a confession of faith at 18 is the same Jesus who walked with me each and every painful day following my loss.
I learned that to recover from this pain I need to lean into my grief and let the tears flow freely until their are no more to give. I got involved in support groups, kept a journal of my feelings and any God moment reflections. In time I sought God's direction to eventually develop www.soaringonwingsofeagles.org to help others heal from their pain.
Life is definitely worth living following tragedy, especially when the once fuzzy picture of heaven comes into greater focus and you can picture your loved one enjoying all the joys that heaven can offer. Enjoy life with those who are still with you while hanging onto the memories of the one who died and have as your hope the trajectory of your loved one's life continuing on in heaven.
Life is indeed awesome.
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