Grieving when death is a Relief …
When your friend dies, after suffering through a long, debilitating illness—for which there is no cure to ease the pain—do you cry or rejoice? When everything has been done, and there is not an asset or a stone that has been left unturned, do you mortgage your future to continue a futile pursuit?
I’ve had the opportunity to experience this twice in my life. I responded differently both times. In the first occasion, my dear husband battled cancer and eventually lost. By the time his physical self had breathed its last, it meant the end of machines and hospital rooms. It meant the end of times shared in this life, and I became angry. I had thought all my good works, and all my prayers, entitled me to his life. How very selfish of me. My husband had his own path to walk, and this was part of it.
Years later, and I faced almost the same situation. My son had been diagnosed with juvenile Type l diabetes at the age of fifteen. His body began failing at the age of thirty-eight, and death came before two more years were up. However, I had reconciled with God during the intervening years, and this time I could respond by asking God what my path was, so that I could help my son. Heeding the voice of God, I connected my son with a friend in the ministry, and was able to do my duty as a mother by ensuring my son would go to heaven prepared. The grief of losing him was like a burning blade, twisting in my heart, and eventually I was able to face his absence in my life. Knowing that his wasted body had no hope of recovery, and that he would on longer be in pain, did nothing to comfort me. But through prayer, and the knowledge of God’s holy purpose, I can move forward and remember him with heartfelt joy.
BIBLICAL VERSE: MATTHEW 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Ω
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