There are days like these when it is impossible not to shed a handful of tears. Even with years between now and when you lost someone, the wound still seems raw. You see it on people's faces. It's not just 9/11. It's not just parents of soldiers lost in the wars of the last decade. Death is everywhere, whether loud and apparent like 09/11 or Syria, or quiet and stabbing, excruciatingly quick like a young mother losing her child before he is born or a bride dead on her wedding night. It can be long and drawn out like watching your mother and all that made her wonderful disappear before your eyes, piece by beautiful piece. Death is pervasive and each situation arduous, grueling.
Death tests the spirit to the core. It is the ultimate loss. It is a realization that your life will never be the same--a hole will always be where he or she was-- and that one day, you too will walk through a similar door into the unknown. So many have gone before, and more and more are going every day, but it doesn't dull the knife of pain death brings. Years pass and Death will scar your life, leaving marks on you with each and every precious person he takes.
I see how Death makes people despair. I must admit that I, too, am pierced by Death and what he has done in my own life. I still struggle with how much I miss those gone in my life, and I am young. I know well that it will only happen more often, and that's something I must come to accept.
But I have something most people don't have. I have a Hope that my life now--the past, present and future--is only temporary, including the pain, no matter how unbearable. I have Someone to hold on to when everything else fails, and when Death comes calling, I have a Friend that comforts me, and He's closer than a brother. He gives a peace that no one person or thing can offer. It gets hard, yes, but if there is one thing I wish I could impart to you, if there is only one thing that you would ever hear from me, it would be that He is there for you, too. He has rivers of infinite mercy waiting for you, no matter where you have been. You may think He is a figment of my imagination, or that He's a god that has never cared, but I know from my own life that He sees you and everything you have been through and He grieves for your broken heart. He has lost, in fact, He sent His only Son for you. You will never understand why, I know I don't, but I trust this Friend and He has brought me through every pain I've had. Not only that, but He conquered Death, as impossible as it sounds, He defeated it to where sin, death, and pain no longer reign, He does. This Friend cares, even if you fight Him, even if you hate Him. I have hated Him and cursed Him, and still He has followed me to the darkest pits to pull me out.
I only pray you allow Him to do the same for you.
"There's bound to come some trouble in your life, reach out to Jesus, and hold on tight. He's been there before and He knows what it's like, and you'll find He's there."--Rich Mullins
Death tests the spirit to the core. It is the ultimate loss. It is a realization that your life will never be the same--a hole will always be where he or she was-- and that one day, you too will walk through a similar door into the unknown. So many have gone before, and more and more are going every day, but it doesn't dull the knife of pain death brings. Years pass and Death will scar your life, leaving marks on you with each and every precious person he takes.
I see how Death makes people despair. I must admit that I, too, am pierced by Death and what he has done in my own life. I still struggle with how much I miss those gone in my life, and I am young. I know well that it will only happen more often, and that's something I must come to accept.
But I have something most people don't have. I have a Hope that my life now--the past, present and future--is only temporary, including the pain, no matter how unbearable. I have Someone to hold on to when everything else fails, and when Death comes calling, I have a Friend that comforts me, and He's closer than a brother. He gives a peace that no one person or thing can offer. It gets hard, yes, but if there is one thing I wish I could impart to you, if there is only one thing that you would ever hear from me, it would be that He is there for you, too. He has rivers of infinite mercy waiting for you, no matter where you have been. You may think He is a figment of my imagination, or that He's a god that has never cared, but I know from my own life that He sees you and everything you have been through and He grieves for your broken heart. He has lost, in fact, He sent His only Son for you. You will never understand why, I know I don't, but I trust this Friend and He has brought me through every pain I've had. Not only that, but He conquered Death, as impossible as it sounds, He defeated it to where sin, death, and pain no longer reign, He does. This Friend cares, even if you fight Him, even if you hate Him. I have hated Him and cursed Him, and still He has followed me to the darkest pits to pull me out.
I only pray you allow Him to do the same for you.
"There's bound to come some trouble in your life, reach out to Jesus, and hold on tight. He's been there before and He knows what it's like, and you'll find He's there."--Rich Mullins
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