Death is one of the most confusing and troubling times of this life we live. It's also the most inevitable. It's one hundred percent guaranteed. But it still hurts.
There is comfort to be found in our mourning because we aren't alone. This may not lessen the pain but it sure does lessen the burden. Some have definitely experienced more death than others. The loss of a child, days before packing up her room and moving her to college, only to have to pack up her things and lay her to rest. The loss of a mother at the mere stage of elementary school, a loss so grand it still makes its presence known in the days of adulthood. The loss of a best friend in high school, a time where bright lights are for football games and flowers are for prom, but they stand around a candlelit grave, laying down flowers wet with tears.
The point is, loss isn't fair. But at the same time, in a bitter paradoxical way, it is. We weren't promised immortality on this earth. We were promised unearthly comfort through the loss. Matthews 5:4 says, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." So, mourn, because it is not only natural but necessary. Just don't lose your faith.
When my mom was a child, her grandfather passed away suddenly. She looked up to her grandmother at the funeral and saw not a tear-streaked face, but a calm one. Little did she know, my great-grandmother did her grieving in private. What my mom took from that was that it was weak to cry. My mom never went through the process of grief, a process that is necessary for the body to expel the build-up of emotions. Years later, she began having anxiety attacks and intense emotional repercussions. The therapist was able to link it back to her grandfather's death, and years after the fact, my mother had to finally go through the process of grief. Grief is not weak. Grief is a physiological and psychological expression of emotional trauma. It is simply human. Even Jesus grieved.
"Jesus wept." Jesus wept because of the death of his dear friend, Lazarus, even though he knew he would resurrect him. The same is true for us. We weep, even though we know the promise of their resurrection. Their resurrection may not happen on this earth, but it occurs in a land far greater than this earth: Heaven. Heaven, a city paved with gold, guarded by gates of pearl, and brightened by the light of the Lord. A place with no sorrow or suffering. A place for us to find peace in. Our loved ones' true resting place.
Psalm 30:5 says, "Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." Weep for your loss, but rejoice in the abundant gain your loved one has just received: the ultimate gift of Heaven and eternal life with the Father.
