Grieving

A few weeks ago, I wrote that my mom might soon go to heaven, and the morning of 1/12/21, this past Tuesday, she did. She put up a fight for over a month to keep going and stay with us, but it was ultimately her time to be with the Lord. So many family and friends have come to comfort us. It is a great blessing, and we all thank God.

This is the first close experience I have had with death, and it is very hard. It is not hard for my Mom because she is in heaven, but it is hard for everyone left on this earth who loved her and were close to her. Each of us is dealing with our grief differently. I have realized that you cannot bypass it, and no-one can go through it for you. It is a blessing God gives us to fully feel the impact of life and other people’s importance.

“Allow God to use your emotions to live life fully.”

There is an excellent quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson that says, “It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.” God gave us the capacity to love, and if He had not, we would not feel the loss in our lives when it happens. Many people would like to avoid the pain of loss altogether, which God could do, but that would mean that we would have no genuine caring and love for each other.

Love fully in this life. You will lose loved ones along the way but do not be afraid to lose them. When you do lose them, grieve and go through the emotion of losing a loved one. Jesus is the most outstanding example of this. Remember how He grieved when Lazarus died?

You are not guaranteed another day on this earth, and neither are the loved ones around you, so love them--truly love them well. Live life and truly live it. Don’t hold back; don’t give in to fear. The value of true love in life is worth the cost at the end of it.