This article ran in 2020. We had experienced the loss of a dear friend…suddenly. In the last three years that has been a constant. Sudden death. Then this past weekend, my daughter’s family suddenly lost her father-in-law. In just the past couple of weeks, there have been so many losses to families I know. I just felt compelled to re-post this article in the hope it would bring comfort.
Love to all.

It has happened to us all. We are on this life journey. The road has been fairly smooth. Skies are blue. The sun has been shining on us. No storms. Then we round a curve or come to the top of a hill and there it stands. DEATH. Right behind DEATH, stands GRIEF.

We met death on the road this week. My dear sister-friends and I. The family of six sisters that I grew up with. Our children grew up together. We had grandchildren at about the same time. We go to church together…Bible Study..have prayed one another through tragedy and difficult times..

Death had come. Quickly and with no warning took one of the dear sisters. There had been no horrific diagnosis. No excruciating illness. She had worked in her garden every day. She had been nursing an older sister back to health. Gone. In just a moment.

When death blindsides us like this, the pain is unbearable. Shock sets in. Unbelief. Surely this can’t be true. The sweet faces of my friends exhibited unspeakable pain.

It was as if Death had taken its long bony fingers, reached inside their chests, and snatched their broken, still-beating hearts out of their body…their sweet faces contorted with the agony of overwhelming loss. They had always been “six sisters”. How would they walk on as only “five”?

They will walk on with Jesus. They will need to sit awhile. After overwhelming loss, they will need time. Time alone with the Father. Time with one another. Then after a bit, time with us.

They will adjust to living as five. The Comforter will hold them and love them as only He can. It will never be the same…would not even want it to be. Walking with Him will make it “doable”. Maybe at first, face 5 minutes…then an hour…then half a day… until doing life again is possible.

It is so difficult to watch your dear ones suffer. We want to “make it better”. We want to “fix it”. We do not possess that ability. It is not in our skillset. Only our Father…Jesus…Holy Spirit…can do that.

We can pound the doors of Heaven with our prayers on their behalf. We can speak God’s promises in His Word over them. We can be present if they need us. We can wait. We can do those things. Those are the things they need from us.

Maybe prayer and presence are the two most important things we can offer to our loved ones in these times. Maybe we do “stand aside” and allow The One who is able, to apply His healing to their wound.

We will walk this road together again…just not today…today, I wait while they rest in Him… comforted in His Love.

John 14