Songs for you
🌹🖤🩶DEATH....🌹🩶🖤
Recently, my family lost a unique soul. He was 28. It was a senseless death, and we all are trying to wrap our minds around the whole business of it.
It's hard because he was so young, even harder that he chose to estrange himself from many members. Now I'm not going to say he lived a perfect life or sing his praises, what I will say is his family loved him through his difficult choices.
In the end his death closed a gap in the family. The only good to come out of this.
The grief however, is strong. Almost unbearable to some. It's in these times that we as Christians must pull together to bind our families to the Lord.
Now, I speak only for myself and not my family when I write this blog. I speak of my hurt and my grief.
I have lost many family members, a brother, both parents and the only grandparent I knew. All my aunts snd uncles too... goid friends etc., and each death hit differently.
I was very young, about 4 when my brother passed away. So I was unaware of grief and never understood loss. His passing really did not have the effect on me that it did my oldest brother who remembers him.
When my grandma passed atv86 yrs, it was like losing a parent, she was a foundation stone in our family. I saw her from the moment death struck its fatal blow to her final breath.
Next was my mom. Her unexpected death literally put me face to face with my greatest fear, losing her. It's been 20 years as I write, and I still have moments of emotional pain.
Dad passed on during Covid. What hurt the most was being told I was not allowed to see him because my job was a cross border job. So I lost the last year of his life thanks to government bull.
When my first cat died, I cried for days! I could not believe it! Then I lost a cat who was severely injured, after months of trying to rehabilitate him, I'm still devastated! Death is horrible!
Now this death, my Nephew, it hurts on a whole different level. He was young, like my brother, and his unexpected end came swiftly and raw. The worse is seeing his family suffer as they are.
Grief, like death is a spirit, and if allowed, it will consume you. This is why the Bible acknowledges grief, but tells us to seek our comfort in Christ.
Allowing grief to take over darkens everything around you. It cause unprovoked anger, withdrawal, and a broken loneliness among many other depressions.
Often times during these circumstances, we are prone to asking "why them, God?". But that's not the question we need to be asking. We all have an appointed time to die, so our questions should be, how to give glory to the Father in this time and how we can serve the members who are broken. It's extremely hard because we are focused on our loss and at that moment, it's all we can see.
My suggestion is always as follows:
1. Thank God for the life of that person. Focus on the good, and how they touched your life. Press into Christ!
2. Check in with each other often, make sure everyone is managing as best they can.
3. Don't rush grief, but don't allow it to consume you.
4. Take some "me" time, look after yourself, eat right, take care of your hygiene. Make sure you keep your strength.
5. How can you serve one another? Are you able to do something practical for each other if distance isn't an issue?
6. Get into your Bible daily if your not already, start your morning off and a positive note as you navigate through this season. Find scriptures to stand on.
All seasons come to an end. It takes time as it does in the natural, so does grieving. Like I said, I still have emotional pain years after my mom passed away and I have lived every single day in between. Acknowledge each other's grief, it's normal and natural to feel deeply at these times. Don't rush anyone and give people plenty of time to talk and mourn with them.
Death and life seem to push us forward whether we are ready or not. We have no choice to go day by day. I hate it as much as anyone!
To me living is like a parade: at the very beginning, there's a lot of commotion and noise. Laughter and children crying, emotions fill the air. Then the parade starts, and as each float passes, it takes away a person one by one. The noise begins to wane, and the crowd begins to thin. Suddenly, a familiar voice goes silent and then another. Till at the end your waiting for your own float. Often times you are alone and sometimes, you are the voice that goes silent to those around you. But where do these floats go? For us as believers, we have a hope that is found in Jesus Christ. He promised that one day, we will all be with Him and there will be no more sorrow, no more crying and death would be gone forever. It is that hope that we press towards the mark of the high calling.
DEATH! WHERE IS THY STING? GRAVE! WHERE IS THY VICTORY!
But what lies ahead for those who do not believe? The Bible says there is a seperation from them and God, We call it hell.
Now, this is my own thought, I could be wrong, the Bible says:
2 Peter 3:9. ESV The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Does that mean that there will be a chance for the unsaved even agter death? I think so. But that's just my opinion. It's the same as my hope that my cats will be there in heaven, waiting for me too!
Regardless, during your time of sorrow, don't go through it alone! Reach out to people and ask them to help you. You will be surprised at how many people want to be there for you.
If you are going through a death, please take care of yourself. Press into the Father and get into the Word. That life was precious to you, a diamond in your family, remember them, the person they were, good, bad or indifferent. They touched your life, remember them and give the Lord your hand to walk with you.
Lastly, In these times, my only thoughts are on the Word of the Lord, and I pass them on to you now:
Psalm 31:9–10
Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eye is wasted from grief;
my soul and my body also.
For my life is spent with sorrow,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my iniquity,
and my bones waste away.
Psalms 34:18
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
Psalm 119:28
My soul melts away for sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word!
Psalm 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
Matthew 5:4
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
1 Thessalonians 4:13–14
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Revelation 21:4
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
