The gentle morning sunlight, the still-damp grass, the quiet shade of the tree. The beauty of the day itself seemed to honor the solemnity of the occasion.

She had been a faithful follower of Jesus, a loving wife and mom of five children, a sweet friend to many. Less than two months ago, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. We gathered at the cemetery to thank the Lord for her life and to mark her heavenly home-going.

We stood together and tried to comprehend the finality of an earthly life and the eternity of a heavenly life. We stood, stoic, strong, and silent, except for the youngest in the group. Like a soft moth, she quietly flitted in and out of the crowd, pausing to hug an aunt or uncle, pausing to look up at a cousin, pausing to look at the flowers adorning the casket.

Then she came to her daddy and stopped at his feet. Her tears and sobs and sadness began to flow, giving voice to her grief and ours. Her daddy scooped her up. She cried freely, comforted by his loving arms. 

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26 

When we feel numbed by grief, when the valley of the shadow of death seems too dark, too deep, may we make our way to the feet of Jesus. May we cry out to Him as we rest in the loving arms of the One who has overcome death, the One who offers us life now and life forever!