| Fly Away Home to Jesus © Betty Sue Eaton |
| A Christian Grief Ministry |
"As he drew nearer and nearer to his last breath, I waited with tears flowing down my face
and my heart aching along with my head. I urged him to let go and go with the light, go
toward Jesus. When he became quiet and no further breaths came struggling from his
throat, I wanted to rush outside, run up the stairs to the rooftop to watch his soul ascend
to Heaven. I'm sure it did. He was that devout, that sanctified."
I could only imagine it though. This is like a scene played out in some Gothic romance
novel with the heroine watching the hero slowly fade away leaving her destitute with grief.
But death is not like a romance novel. It does leave those surviving destitute and shaken
to their very foundations with grief. Death is all too frequent, all too selective, all too
random, all too very, very final. Death is for keeps! When it does come, we are always
unprepared for the ache that comes along with it. We wonder if we were able to say all
the things needed saying in the few days, months, years, before our loved one is gone
forever out of our sight.
Death wears many faces: It can come without a single hint it was on the way. It can
happen after agonizing months battling a dread disease. It can come after we feel that
quiver in the pit of our stomachs when a child calls and says he is going to be a little late
coming home for the school party. Or when we haven't heard from a husband overseas
on the battlefront at the regular time and just know the next voice will be that of some
representative of the service in which he was member. Death is no respecter of persons,
place, or time. Death is God's call for the life of our loved one. He alone plans out every
single life for His children. He only knows when the time to go home to be with Him in
heaven is appointed and fulfilled. He alone can ease our suffering.
No matter how the death occurred, it is a tragedy for us. Be the lost one husband, child,
sibling, parent, grandparent, friend, it doesn't matter. We invested affection and caring in
that loved one and now they are gone! Change has happened and it cannot be
un-changed, back to where it was before. We simply must go on without them. Hard? The
hardest! Nothing could be harder to do. Daily we think of him who is not at his usual place
in our lives. At the slightest activity, we miss her who always brightened our days. Nightly
we miss that husband who comforted us and made the world safe for us, that sparkling
child who amused us with such great promise.
Many of you who are reading this have and are suffering the loss of someone intimately
close to you, and you are experiencing the depths of aching, confusion, anger,
depression, desperation. I know because I have been where you are and my heart breaks
for you. Your sadness is overwhelming to me because I know how it feels. But I also know
that the only place a Christian can go for release from all of this pain is to their knees to
ask God to intercede for them, to take away the pain and all the confusion in their lives
now. There is nothing else you will ever experience in your life to equal the trauma of
losing someone very dear to you, on whom you depend ever day to be with you, to
support you and face every day with you at your side.
God knows all of this and He is there to bear your pain for you if you turn it all over to Him
in prayer. He is waiting for you to ask, to rely on Him to fulfill His promise to us that He
would be our confessor, our comfort, and our salvation. He is totally in charge of all
aspects of our lives.
God said, "All ye who labor and are heavy laden, come unto Me and I will give you rest.".
He didn't say those words carelessly; He meant them and there is no one else in the
entire universe Who can do that. He created us for His pleasure and He is troubled when
we are sad. He loved us so much, He came to earth in human form in the body of His only
son, Jesus Christ, who suffered, died and was resurrected for our sins and for our
salvation. But it didn't end there. He said He would be with us "even unto the ends of the
earth" to heal and comfort us. He said we would meet our loved ones again in Paradise
with Him in the great City of Gold He prepared for us. How great is His promise!
All we must do is call out to Him and He will be there for us in the death of our loved one,
whomever they may be. Always rely on Him for solace in the face of unknown terrors of
living without the one we loved. He is all sufficient to our needs no matter how great they
may be. He will comfort you and bring you peace that passes all human understanding.
He promised He would always be there for us, and He never makes promises He will not,
nor cannot keep. And He never goes back on His word.
May God be with you and grant you peace and solace in your grief. ~ Betty
and my heart aching along with my head. I urged him to let go and go with the light, go
toward Jesus. When he became quiet and no further breaths came struggling from his
throat, I wanted to rush outside, run up the stairs to the rooftop to watch his soul ascend
to Heaven. I'm sure it did. He was that devout, that sanctified."
I could only imagine it though. This is like a scene played out in some Gothic romance
novel with the heroine watching the hero slowly fade away leaving her destitute with grief.
But death is not like a romance novel. It does leave those surviving destitute and shaken
to their very foundations with grief. Death is all too frequent, all too selective, all too
random, all too very, very final. Death is for keeps! When it does come, we are always
unprepared for the ache that comes along with it. We wonder if we were able to say all
the things needed saying in the few days, months, years, before our loved one is gone
forever out of our sight.
Death wears many faces: It can come without a single hint it was on the way. It can
happen after agonizing months battling a dread disease. It can come after we feel that
quiver in the pit of our stomachs when a child calls and says he is going to be a little late
coming home for the school party. Or when we haven't heard from a husband overseas
on the battlefront at the regular time and just know the next voice will be that of some
representative of the service in which he was member. Death is no respecter of persons,
place, or time. Death is God's call for the life of our loved one. He alone plans out every
single life for His children. He only knows when the time to go home to be with Him in
heaven is appointed and fulfilled. He alone can ease our suffering.
No matter how the death occurred, it is a tragedy for us. Be the lost one husband, child,
sibling, parent, grandparent, friend, it doesn't matter. We invested affection and caring in
that loved one and now they are gone! Change has happened and it cannot be
un-changed, back to where it was before. We simply must go on without them. Hard? The
hardest! Nothing could be harder to do. Daily we think of him who is not at his usual place
in our lives. At the slightest activity, we miss her who always brightened our days. Nightly
we miss that husband who comforted us and made the world safe for us, that sparkling
child who amused us with such great promise.
Many of you who are reading this have and are suffering the loss of someone intimately
close to you, and you are experiencing the depths of aching, confusion, anger,
depression, desperation. I know because I have been where you are and my heart breaks
for you. Your sadness is overwhelming to me because I know how it feels. But I also know
that the only place a Christian can go for release from all of this pain is to their knees to
ask God to intercede for them, to take away the pain and all the confusion in their lives
now. There is nothing else you will ever experience in your life to equal the trauma of
losing someone very dear to you, on whom you depend ever day to be with you, to
support you and face every day with you at your side.
God knows all of this and He is there to bear your pain for you if you turn it all over to Him
in prayer. He is waiting for you to ask, to rely on Him to fulfill His promise to us that He
would be our confessor, our comfort, and our salvation. He is totally in charge of all
aspects of our lives.
God said, "All ye who labor and are heavy laden, come unto Me and I will give you rest.".
He didn't say those words carelessly; He meant them and there is no one else in the
entire universe Who can do that. He created us for His pleasure and He is troubled when
we are sad. He loved us so much, He came to earth in human form in the body of His only
son, Jesus Christ, who suffered, died and was resurrected for our sins and for our
salvation. But it didn't end there. He said He would be with us "even unto the ends of the
earth" to heal and comfort us. He said we would meet our loved ones again in Paradise
with Him in the great City of Gold He prepared for us. How great is His promise!
All we must do is call out to Him and He will be there for us in the death of our loved one,
whomever they may be. Always rely on Him for solace in the face of unknown terrors of
living without the one we loved. He is all sufficient to our needs no matter how great they
may be. He will comfort you and bring you peace that passes all human understanding.
He promised He would always be there for us, and He never makes promises He will not,
nor cannot keep. And He never goes back on His word.
May God be with you and grant you peace and solace in your grief. ~ Betty
Life After Loss |