For thought and meditation

[rl69]

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.—Revelation 21:4 (http://harvest.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=4f108f827aed8d503b5fca9fa&id=bdc54e5c5e&e=3dd732485b)The day my son Christopher went to heaven was the hardest day of my life, needless to say. Now birthdays are difficult. Christmas is difficult. Easter is difficult. It's amazing how every occasion is loaded with memories we didn't know we had.

That day I joined a club I never wanted to join: the club of those who have lost loved ones and, specifically, those who have lost children.

People pour their hearts out whenever I talk about this. They tell me their stories, and I have been in tears as I've heard from other parents who have lost children and have told me how Cathe and I have inspired them. I thank God for that. Despite this pain and tragedy, if we can bring a little hope or a little comfort to someone else, then I am thankful God has allowed us to have some joy despite this tragedy.

If it were up to me, I would have my son back in a heartbeat. But I am not given that opportunity, of course. So I simply say, "Lord, I don't want to waste my pain. How can I use it for Your glory?" There are a lot of hurting people out there. I know what they're going through.

I have found that talking about heaven is helpful to me. It causes me to focus and think about where my son is right now.

Maybe you have a loved one who is in heaven—maybe a child, maybe a sibling, maybe a parent or grandparent, or maybe a spouse. If he or she trusted the Lord, then you have hope. And that hope is in heaven.

It is not good-bye forever; it is see you later. We will see our loved ones again because, as Christians, we never say good-bye.

[USMC87]

Amen, We have a hope beyond the grave.

[jmort]

“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”[

[Blackwater]

Wow! What a powerful post! Thank you. I've never lost a child. Only have one. But my son's best friend was so close to us, he was like a 2nd son, or as close to it as one can get. We had a core group at church who all had kids of similar ages, and they all loved each other because of their relationships that started in the church. They got to REALLY know each other, and each other's strengths and weaknesses. And they learned how to tease each other in a way that brought their strengths to the fore, and helped them develop a real sense of humor about their own selves, and their friends - a crucial thing in this life.

Michael got killed within easy earshot of my home. We heard the crash. A deputy responding to an urgent call, also a friend of mine, went to pass just as Michael turned left almost at his home. He hit Michael's car right on the door post. Michael died a bit later. I saw them wheel his guerney out to take him to the Lifestar helicopter that took him to Savannah's Memorial hospital, our best equipped hospital in SE Ga., and he died on the way to the hospital during the flight. They let his Dad be with him on the flight. I have tears in my eyes as I write this. I loved Michael literally like a 2nd son. He was always over at our house, or my son was over at his, and in our little group of parents and kids, the kids always knew that no matter which of the parents they were with, they always got the same treatment and discipline and watchful eye. Michael was a wonderful young man, and a Christian for real. He was 21 when he died. He and my son's birthdays were 3 days apart, and they sometimes argued who got to "rule" because of the "age difference." It was just part of the give and take that they all learned to handle so very well.

God be with all those who've lost children, whether by blood or by virtue of affiliation and love. It's one HUGE loss, and unlike any other loss we can suffer in this life. It'd be much easier to lose our own lives than a child, even when it's not technically one of our own flesh and blood. There's a brighter day coming when they are reunited in Heaven, though, and that's really all that can sustain them. Those without faith who lose a child, have nothing to sustain them. I've known a couple in my time who lost a child, and from that, developed an honest, outright hatred toward God. One passed on a few years back. I would NOT want to be them now! Everything was all about THEM, and what THEY wanted and thought and felt. A person who can't get beyond their own tiny circle of concerns can never find happiness or true satisfaction in any aspect of their life. It's a lesson one can never forget.

Our God is a great and awesome God, who TRULY loves us. The way the world HAD to be made, left openings for things like even the loss of a child as something that would inevitably occur occasionally. Those who rail at and declaim God for not cow-towing to THEIR sensibilities will never probably understand God, or why things happen in this life. If no kids ever died, as a result of their or others' mistakes, or maybe disease, they'd have little motivation to get to know God early on. It's the vagaries and chances in life that always keep our eyes on what MIGHT happen to ANY of us, that often keeps our sights right where they ought to be - on our relationship with God, so we might one day be deemed worthy to enter Heaven. What a day of rejoicing THAT will be! Getting to see Mom, Dad, Michael, all my aunts and uncles and cousins that played so great a part in shaping me into the man I am today. Yes! How can we NOT look forward to that day?