Death is a topic avoided at all costs. We don't like to think about it. Thinking about death makes us sad, and sadness is not an enviable emotion.

That being said, death is a side effect of life. The fact that everyone will die is one of the few certain things in this world. If you haven't lost someone close to you, you will.

The first day is surreal. The second day you wake up and wonder if you dreamt it all. Waking up in the morning takes you into your new "normal." A "normal" that is a horrible nightmare you can't wake up from, no matter how hard you pinch yourself. Grief consumes you and covers everything that used to bring you joy. It becomes hard to smile at anything, hard to complete mundane tasks, hard to see the point in life without your loved one.

Dealing with the death of a loved one, if you do not believe in life after death, is close to unbearable. What reason do we have to keep on pushing, to keep on living our lives, if we never expect to see our loved ones again?

When the time comes and you lose someone you love deeply, remember this: There is only one place that you can find peace, one place that you can find joy, one place that you can find hope in tomorrow and one place that you can find real comfort in the sorrow. That place is in Jesus Christ.

When we have faith in Jesus and his promise of eternal life, when we believe in him, dealing with death becomes easier. This is not to say grief goes away; it evolves, it becomes manageable through our hope in Jesus. The one and only reason we are not completely consumed by grief when a loved one dies is because we know we will see them again. Our god keeps his promises. Because of this simple, yet earth-shaking fact, we can keep pushing on. We can be joyful, knowing we will see our loved one again, even through the pain.

"For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16