A Passing

People come and go in our lives. They touch us in ways that are sometimes quite profound. The going is where our hearts are forever changed.

Over the past two months three people who were a part of my life in some way have passed away. Most recently today.

Nothing quite prepares you for the finality. You recognize that you will lose people during the course of your life. But, the reality of the call, the text, the email notifying you leaves you raw.

All of a sudden there is a hole, a rush of questions that may have no answers, a flood of memories of how that person impacted your life. You feel almost like your view of life has now changed. And it has. Those of us left behind try and find our way on this uncharted territory.

I find myself wondering why God in His Sovereignty chooses to take one who was so vibrant, so caring and so full of life. I know I will not have the answers to this but it does make me wrestle with it. But, then I stop to think about how God sent His only Son to die for me. For us. He willingly did this that eternal life can be given to those who believe. He was vibrant, He was caring and He was so full of life. And for three days He lay in the grave. And then the resurrection! New Life! And each of these three wonderful women are experiencing new life! No more pain, no more treatments, no more sorrow.  And for those of us left behind we have this hope:

I Thessalonians 4:13-14 "And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died."