But now there is a veil covering all nations and people. This veil is called “death.” But death will be destroyed forever. And the Lord GOD will wipe away every tear from every face. (Isaiah 25: 7-8)
It’s been thirteen years now since my father passed on January 1, 2010. I remember the moment he left this world as vividly today as if mere seconds had passed rather than years. January also marks six years since my best friend was taken much too soon. Since then, we have also said goodbye to our sweet mom in 2021. Time continues to move forward, but missing them is something I carry with me every day.
The loss of a loved one brings into sharp focus just how thin the veil between life and death truly is.
I felt my father’s passing because I was in the room at the exact moment he took his last breath. One minute he was there and the next, I felt him slip away. A second before the phone rang on that January night six years ago, I knew something wasn’t right. All of a sudden I had this overwhelming knowledge that answering that call would change my life forever. It did. When my mom passed, I was hit unaware because I had just seen her and the thought of losing her was not something I had considered an eminent thing. Even so, the grief was the same.
Death comes unbidden for all of us. It’s not something we dwell on, but it’s something we will all experience until the time comes for our own. Each moment of grief we carry changes us. As we move through the process, we remember, we mourn, and we love. More than anything, I think it’s the love we shared in life that continues to bind us, that bridges the veil between heaven and earth, and ultimately gives us the strength to carry on.
Death does not end our relationship with the deceased because those who have passed on are not lost to us.
In John 5:24 Jesus reminds us, “that whoever hears My word and believes in the One who sent Me has eternal life and won’t come under judgment but has passed from death into life.”
As Christians, we believe in life after death because we believe in Jesus Christ. We believe in the sacrifice He paid and the promise He secured for us through His death and resurrection. We believe that we will be reunited with Him and the Father and with all who have gone before us in faith. It is this faith in things unseen and hope in things yet to come that sustains us through grief and that assures us the separation is temporary.
“But if we died with Christ, we have faith that we will also live with Him. We know that Christ has been raised from the dead and He will never die again. Death no longer has power over Him. He died to sin once and for all with His death, but He lives for God with His life.”
Romans 6: 8-10
I take great comfort in knowing that my loved ones are no longer suffering. no longer afraid, and no longer separated from Christ. Though I miss them with every breath, I celebrate their lives and pray for their souls as I know they pray for mine. The connection we shared in life did not end with their death. It continues through me and through all who knew and love them.
Above all else, I believe love is the force that conquers death and that enables us to bear the separation. One of my favorite verses of scripture, John 3: 16-17, reminds me of this every time I read it, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”
The veil between heaven and earth is thin because God’s love for us is magnificent and endless. Through His Son, He provided the way for us to remain connected to Him in this life and to be reunited with Him forever in the life to come.
Know that we will miss you,
with each and every breath,
for the love that we have shared in life,
does not cease in death.
The beauty of love is its power,
to heal the deepest loss,
for love resides in each of us,
and helps us bear the cross,
of losing those we hold most dear,
knowing we’ll meet again,
for that is the promise He gave us,
when He died to forgive all sin.
Your spirit dwells within us,
we keep you with us as we go,
so that the love we shared in life,
continues to flourish and grow.
And though our hearts are breaking,
in this moment as we mourn,
we know that you are safely wrapped
in our Savior’s loving arms.
That with joy you have been welcomed,
for a life so faithfully lived,
and there you’ll wait with open arms,
until the moment we meet again.
JN Fenwick (© 2021-2023) | mothjournal14