Mourn with those who mourn....Romans 12:15b
As believers in Christ we know Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us (John 14:3), that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). We are comforted by all of our Lord's precious promises, but when the time comes to say goodbye to a loved one there is first a tearing, a ripping of the soul, a pain beyond all words.
As a comforter, one who is mourning with those who mourn (John 12:15b) it is more than alright to weep, and to listen to their cries of anger, doubt, frustration, and loneliness. We dare not try to silence their agony, but give space for it. In those first sacred hours of parting let us not be quick to fill the air with the sound of our voice, let us not recite a list of verses, but instead let us tear our clothes, shave our heads, and fall to the ground in worship as Job did (Job 1:20). I believe Job's worship was not an elaborate song of praise but a wounded honest agony.
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In God's presence there is a place for our pain, and there with our face in our hands, we cry out to our Lord in honest grief. O Lord, hear my honest grief today as I mourn a dear brother in the Lord, and weep with His family.
I'll Remember You
Even the birds sing, think it's a crime,
Nobody told them you've been taken from this life.
I hear tomorrow the sun will rise,
Think it's a shame no one sent word to the eastern sky.
Can't even move my feet, forgotten how to breathe,
And the world goes on as if you never left!
Ever the wind blows and the trees bend.
But in-spite of all I see can't feel a thing.
I know that spring comes with the April rain,
Wonder by then if I will feel again?
Can't seem to move my feet, why should my heart still beat?
And the world goes on as if you never left!
I saw your lips move whispering words,
But I never understood a thing I heard.
I know that someday at evening tide,
Stories of you will resurrect your smile.
And I'll retrace your steps, I will not forget,
Let the world march on as if they never knew...
But I'll remember you.
©Cindy Palin January 2004
adapted for this present day - September 2021
Photo by #unsplash, thank you Kulli Kittus